The War (Play to Live: Book #6) (24 page)

"Danger, boys! Grym’s coming!"

The effect was instantaneous. Every mobile individual immediately abandoned the portal zone. No one wanted to be the victim of buttonholing and a two-hour interrogation.

I fooled him by flipping my virtual spell book to a commonly-used tab and activated a Gate to the bind point. Home, sweet home!

"Greetings, master!" Lurch whispered triumphantly into my ear with a hint of sympathy in his voice.

I froze like a frightened cat and nodded slowly. My office from noble thousand-year-old oak was surprisingly cool. There was a sense of melancholy emptiness.

I frowned in confusion, then slowly walked around the room, carefully passing my fingers over the small everyday things. They no longer gave me joy. There was a withered bouquet of night flowers in a lop-sided homemade vase made of birch bark; an armchair strategically placed in a corner where you had the best view, with a small table next to it covered with scratches and blade marks; a green shirt with a partially embroidered collar and a towel that had been thrown over it – the female Drow from the close circle guards would often try to find the best garments for their chosen one when they thought no one was looking.

And then there was this scent…An early autumn glade…
Drow? Lizzie!

Like Aybak the aksakal, I had a grim realization. I remembered the battle on the mountain top, the Sun God firing scorching plasma at me, the figure that covered me, and the female voice that gave a quiet cry.

I understood, but just couldn’t believe…I threw open the entrance door and stared at the sentries lined up outside. "Where’s corporal Mona Lisa? Was she resurrected?!"

No response. Only sobbing and tearful eyes. One of the Drow boldly tossed back her hair, ripped her blouse open, sending buttons rolling down the hall, and stepped forward. “I can fill in for her!"

Perplexed, I stared at the black ribbon trimmed with lace which could barely support the sentry’s full breasts. Then I looked her in the eyes. She was a wild cat trying to break herself and become a domestic one in an instant.
Why?!

"Cover yourself," I whispered, slamming the door shut.

Leaning my back against the sturdy oak boards, I closed my eyes and quickly flipped through my inner interface. Statistics…Human reserves…Hired staff…Warriors…Sort by: female Drow. Two hundred and nine. Sort by: rank, highest to lowest. A few lieutenants, warrant officers, a long list of sergeants. Mona Lisa wasn’t in that list…

Howling, raging at the unfairness of the universe, I bit my lip and hit he back of my head against the door.
Think, think! The girl has given her life for you!

I spoke to the Super Nova in my thoughts. "Lurch, where’s Asmodeus?"

"The forces of the Silver Legion have received guest access and are housed in the Main Fort outside the walls."

I nodded my gratitude. "Thanks, friend…What would I do without you?" Then I asked without much hope: "Lizzie is really not here?"

The ancient spirit understood. "I’m sorry…"

I decided against sprinting to the Fort, putting blisters on my feet and bursting through three walls. It was unbecoming to me, would’ve taken a while and might have caused a panic. So I called the on-duty wizard and told him my desired destination point.

He took out a giant folio from his inventory, tore out the scroll I needed, then shrugged and said apologetically: "Sir, please sign the ledger. Rules are rules. The scroll has a number. It’s from list A like all the portals to the Valley."

I quickly signed, closed the door and broke the seal in a hurry.
Hang on, Lizzie! I know what the Great Nothingess is like, been there myself. It sucks; you can lose your individuality. But hang on! As long as the Sun God’s plasma hasn’t incinerated your soul, you will be fine!

The Fort looked…well…frightening. The demons had made themselves at home, and the cold shivers running down my spine reminded me of whom I was dealing with.

The white defense walls were now covered with scarlet pentagrams and stained with blood. Gray candles of unknown origin burned on the walls. I just hoped they hadn’t been made from the fat of the righteous. The animals set aside for sacrifices lowed sorrowfully.

The demons had seized the opportunity to draw power from the warm-blooded creatures of the real world. One sacrificial rooster wasn’t so bad. A black billy goat was a substantial gift. And a herd of a thousand bulls was something that could take Inferno to a whole new level.

The giant pile of shiny skulls indicated that the creatures of hell had consumed quite a bit of power already. And the pyramidal shape diligently inscribed next to the unknown runes raised suspicion. Were they building a ziggurat?

Lightfighter approached me unhurriedly. "Asmodeus is…" he hesitated. "Hunting. Studying the local fauna. How may I be of help to our ally? "

I became enraged.
The Archdemon is freely wandering in the Valley?! The snow-white walls of the Super Nova are becoming the bearings of a satanic temple?!
The hundreds of sacrificed creatures had worn out the barrier between the worlds, and I thought I could already hear the moans of myriads of sinners…

"You can be of help all right," I said, grinding my teeth. "Guest access implies that you sit on your asses quietly without making any sudden moves or engaging in any economic or missionary acitivity. So listen carefuly; make the walls look like they did before. Take this ziggurat apart. Let the animals go."

Lightfighter got sulky, and a cold draft came from him. It was either because of the clashing emotions or because of intense magic. "We have bought the sacrificial animals from dwarves with real gold."

"I’ll compensate you," I countered. "Although I don’t have to…In short, quit building your Inferno branch here. Clean it up and stick to your barracks. As agreed, I will summon you to battle if needed. The Legion is under my command for 168 hours. And right now, you’re asking for a command to commit group hara-kiri!"

The general scowled and slowly put his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I’m under Asmodeus’ direct orders, and only he can cancel them."

An adrenaline rush clouded my judgement. The humble repairman was swept away, and out came the infuriated Lord. The adamant gauntlet with its terrifying blades somehow slipped on my hand, whispering merciless, bloodthirsty promises into my ear.

I took a step forward, invading the general’s personal space and instantly initiating a conflict between two alpha males. "Only
my
orders matter in
this
land. I’ve killed two gods today who have failed to accept this, and chased a third one for an hour in a destroyed city. Do you seriously think a couple of ancient demons can dictate their conditions to me?"

I lied a bit and bluffed, although I really believed what I said. I just really didn’t want to use the gauntlet. The Sun God had a rotten heart, and the weapon I had made of it wasn’t any better. It was like a wormhole that could suck any naïve fool into a world of chaos before he even noticed.

So yes, I was bluffing. But my faith combined with my crazy willingness to follow through on my promises had previously helped me on more than one occasion, making a more powerful enemy back out of a trivial argument. That’s how a dried-up prisoner with tuberculosis can enjoy authority over a clique of tough guys – by talking tough and demonstrating a total lack of self-restraint.

But this archdemon wasn’t so easy to intimidate – he was an alpha male with a thousand years of experience with a huge list of defeated foes.

Hypnotizing me with his vertical pupils, he said slowly and distinctly: "Top Demon’s orders – that’s the only power I’m willing to obey."

I could barely keep my aggression in check as I regained control over my mind. This was a bad time to incur a conflict with demons. The last thing I needed was a war on two fronts. Plus, we needed each other…

Asmodeus, whom I called with a Summoning Ring, was thinking the same thing. His incredible intuition or maybe some sort of telepathy instantly filled him in on the situation, and his lips spread in a shiny American smile. "Max, I’m glad to see my ally is in perfect health! You really showed those foolish gods who’s boss. See, I got beat up by a couple of Seraphims. Those feathered bastards have accumulated quite a bit of holiness…But that’s okay, we’ll meet again. To what do I owe the honor of being called here? I have caught a magnificent bear by the way, and hooked it up to a power source. Three hundred years from now, it’ll be huge and make a great trophy. Care to go hunting with me?"

He really shouldn’t have brought bears into this…My heavy gaze locked on the Top Demon, I blew my summoning whistle, helping the low-power artifact with a personal plea.
Hummungus, dear, come to papa!

"Ro-o-o-ar!!!"

Hummungus’s roaring was like a punch in the guts, like the cry an awesome superhero might give upon suddenly finding his daughter who had been missing for a long time.

I blinked a few times and nodded gratefully when the warm, coarse tongue passed over my face. I then petted his mighty neck. He really had grown quite a bit and was now a mountain of a bear the size of a KV tank.

"Is this the bear you had in mind?" I asked Asmodeus.

There was a glint of anger in the demon’s eyes. I wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong myself, but my bear growled, аnd my greedy pig’s fur stood on end.

"As if I remember!" the Top Demon parried. "Your Valley is rich, with enough warm-blooded beasts for 666 hetacombs."

He stopped short, realizing he shouldn’t have said that.

I frowned. "That’s one reason I summoned you," I said as I kept petting Hummungus with my right hand and gestured at the satanic Fort with my left. "Clean this place up! Conduct a purification ritual. Close the gap between the worlds. Remove the germs from the air. Rehabilitate the neutral population of the astral world and chase away the chaoists. This is non-negotiable!"

It became hard to breathe. There was little air left around our bodies as magic began to flow between us with a roaring sound, making tiny specks of dust flare up and disappear.

The demon thought things through at a much faster rate than I. My judgement was poor at that moment, my body flooded with adrenaline and my mind clouded with rage. But he easily put reason before emotion and gave me a friendly smile. "Not a problem! A foolish enterprise started by low-ranking officers. The guilty will be punished."

Lightfighter shuddered at the thought of a beating he didn’t believe he deserved, but kept silent. A good general, taking all of his master’s hints.

"Anything else?" asked Asmodeus most courteously.

I said nothing for the first few seconds, concentrating hard on a pop song in case this thousand-year-old creature could also read people’s thoughts. "No. Just abide by the rules of our agreement. How much longer do you plan on staying in our plane of reality?"

The demon shrugged indifferently. "If you let me stay, I’ll look after the Legion, then take it back to Inferno myself. Lightfighter still behaves eccentrically at times. A part of his personality was lost in the Great Nothingess."

I tried to keep a poker face. I would’ve banished him. But I didn’t want to start a conflict at that moment. And I certainly didn’t want to reveal my sore spots in front of Asmodeus.
Sorry Lizzie, but I can’t ask him for help now. He’ll only shake his head, hide you in his basement, then use you to get something from me at the worst possible moment. You can’t anthropomorphize demons, you just can’t!

I put one foot in the stirrup on the bear’s harness and adroitly jumped up into the saddle. It wasn’t easy as Hummungus was already 15 feet tall at the withers. Plus, his back was incredibly wide; it was like sitting on the back of a tank truck.

I urged the bear into a trot. The ground shook as the shaggy mount weighing several tons reached a cruising speed of 38 miles an hour.

I rode in a spiral between Super Nova’s walls, which helped me calm down and also alerted the relaxed logistical post guards to help keep them on their toes. I reached the portal zone.

The on-duty wizard appeared before me.

"Portal to the Seventh Heaven," I said. "Hurry!"

Someone PMed me. It was the wonderful Amara, my princely secretary. "Max, the senior officers have assembled for the conference."

"Cancel!" I snapped, then corrected myself. "Er, let them begin without me. The main issue is determining the clan’s further development given our current situation. Later!"

I whipped Hummungus telepathically, making him rear and utter a furious roar. I myself spat in anger; damn the role of the individual in history! If I died tomorrow, the clan would die with me, the Alliance would become a mess, and the cluster would surrender to beavers.

No boys, I won’t give you the gun. We must do everything ourselves! I won’t come today because my friend is in danger!

Chapter Fourteen

M
unicipal kindergarten area.

The suspicious silence that fell on the playground distracted the teacher from her daydreaming and made her shudder with fear. If the children were this quiet, then something was surely amiss.

Tossing her tattered copy of Dana Ross’s cult book on the bench, the girl jumped to her feet and looked around. Her heart sank; everyone was gone.

Tripping and cussing at her trendy triple-heel shoes, the woman dashed about the playground, checking every spot where the restless five-year-olds might have been hiding.

She nearly panicked when suddenly she heard little Alex’s squeaky voice come from one of the witch playhouses: "I’m telling you it’s a dwalf! It’s just vely small! Didn’t eat his vitamins."

"Should we feed him? I have some candy." This was Anya’s voice – the little redhead with a sweet tooth and a pockets filled with sweets.

The teacher heaved a sigh of relief. She put on a stern face, stuck her head inside the tiny door and quickly counted the children’s backs. All twelve were there.

She barely suppressed her urge to snap at them. She wasn’t eager to create stutterers, plus there was a parental control camera on every pole. So the teacher knocked lightly: "Knock-knock! I was just…"

The children stepped aside, and the teacher stopped short. Huddled up in the corner of the playhouse was a tiny green-skinned monster in gray, tattered clothes and a paper cap.

"What is this…vile thing?" the teacher managed to say as she felt for the cellphone in her pocket.

"It’s a dwalf!" Alex said confidently.

"You’re a dwarf!" said Artyom condescendingly. "Read what it says here!"

He pointed his finger at something between the green ears of the toothy creature and read by syllables: "Go-bin! ‘Leval’ three. You should learn the alphabet!"

The portal opened more abruptly than usual, as if someone on the other side hurried it up. Actually that was precisely the case in a way…

An echo boomed around us, the cabby wizard gave a constrained moan, and Hummungus roared in indignation. The bubble under the arch expanded, then insantly popped, letting a powerful water current rush through the arch. Good thing it only reached up to the hip. It was like a deceiving mountain stream, seemingly small but pretty impassable.

"C-c-cold," the wizard said, teeth chattering. Then he began to jabber worriedly. "The mass of the objects being transported is too high. There’s enough mana left for only about ten seconds!"

At the same time, we heard Lurch yell: "My garden! You’re flooding it, you tyrants! Turn off the water!"

I looked back. A silent panic was brewing. A great ice-cold wave washed away the skinny goblins. The trolls towered over everything else like breakwaters, fishing out tiny creatures to save them from freezing as well as the multiple trophies which had been carelessly piled up near the portal zone. Next to the elven garden, a gardener elf was sweating blood as he put out his hands and by means unknown held back the mighty current.
Damn jedi.

By the way, there was no spell for that. This is what the power of a true wish could do. It was the use of magic directly, without following someone’s verbal instructions.

"Make up your mind, Sir!” the portal wizard urged me, uncorking a mana vial with numb fingers.

"Go ahead, Hummungus," I said, softly driving my heels into the bear’s sides. "Let’s see what kinda sewage pipe burst on the other side."

Hummungus pushed forward against the stream like an iceboat, adroitly catching a huge spotted salmon along the way. I barely had time to open my mouth and put my hand out before the lover of delicacies began munching the precious pink flesh.

"Shit," I whispered, watching the destruction of the clan’s potential key to monopoly on the true gem of the Russian cluster – red caviar.

I quickly drafted an order for all economic managers:
Run a dragnet through the pond, then store and stockpile everything you fish out. Everything from king crab to tiger shrimp if these species are out there.

As we came out of the portal, my arm got pushed out of the way, preventing me from sending the order. And then I realized that this order wasn’t necessary.

"Holy shit," I breathed, gazing at the boundless, dark sea.

It was a surreal sight. Sand dunes dotted the water like isles. The stunned creatures of the Frontier were no longer desert beasts, but amphibians. Palm trees dropped their dates into the jaws of countless fish.

"The Asians have problems," I observed with joy.

Guess I am a gloating son-of-a-bitch after all. I liked the idea that millions of Chinese would worry about the sea instead of thinking about robbing the practically defenseless Russian cluster.

The thing was that the grand arch of the quest passage to the Seventh Heaven was located right in the Frontier desert. And for some reason, it was reachable on foot from the Chinese cluster; a two hour walk at most. It had been discovered within a few months after the game was released.

It’s hard to follow to admins’ logic. I could only assume that this was another incentive for a global war. But this time, it wouldn’t be a war between good and evil, but a war between Confucianism and Christianity. For a war always means money, and a big war means a
lot
of money.

This was an upland arch, so it remained above sea level on a sand dune, praised be the designers. And now, there was a suspicious bustle around it. Magic flashed as fascinating chanting echoed around us.

Some creatures showed up on the radar in orange. I could already see them myself – angels! On the one hand, they were the Neutral Good, not some chaosists whose aggro could be drawn even by a perfect cube. On the other hand, we had been fighting before, and this has seriously damaged our factional relationship with their entire plane of reality.

Hummungus got tired of standing in cold water. He swiftly ran forward, trying to reach dry land. He wouldn’t mind warming up by a magic fire, or at least in the heat of a battle. That’s how my teddy was – crazy yet so faithful and strong that I felt it with all my soul.

The long-forgotten sense of unity and perfect safety filled me. Ruata could attack me from the back, the Fallen One could slice my head off on a divine whim, and the Children of the Night could overthrow their leader the moment he showed weakness. But Hummungus would be loyal to the very end.

Moreover, together we had more power than our separate stats added up. Like two "ones" which line up to form an "eleven." Two warriors standing back to back are always stronger than those same two warriors far apart.

My mount picked up speed, leaving behind a trail of swirling water and almost gliding on the sea. Where did he learn to run like that? By chasing Eric’s LAV? And where are my bear cubs? I have a clan cavalry to assemble!

We received a rather cool welcome. While the ten angels were preparing for some sort of ritual, a mighty four-faced Seraphim stepped out to meet us. He spread his six 30-foot-long ruffled wings to hide the magical proceedings from us.

He was handsome…I never got a good look at them during the battle. In fact, I hadn’t engaged in a fight with any of the dwellers from the Seventh Heaven. They attacked mostly from the sky, drawing the attention of archers and wizards.

Noticing that most of his feathers were either charred or missing, I sighed heavily; if he was one of those who had fought against us at Tian Long or at the blood-stained Fortress Yavanna, negotiating would be difficult…

He gestured for us to stop. I obeyed and halted Hummungus, who began to growl threateningly. I got out of the saddle and jumped down into the freezing water.

Goddammit!
I nearly gasped for air. This water was at most 41 degrees! My steel boots – even with their mithril pattern and a good share of precious magic crystals – were not the best footwear for winter swimming.

A quarter-gallon Baltic 7 beer bottle from eco-friendly plastic drifted by. I followed it with my eyes and chuckled. It really did feel like the Baltic Sea out here, with temperatures that low.

I turned to the motionless angel and bowed my head respectfully. "Greetings, mighty Seraphim!" I said and paused, awaiting a response.

And in response I heard silence. The archangel’s steel-cold eyes were like those of an imperturbable Native American smoking a peace pipe. His face was unbelievably handsome and had the most arrogant expression.

I sighed slowly, keeping my emotions in check. No reason to get pissed. These guys have never seen us do good, so expecting a warm greeting was silly.

"I would like to ask for your help…" I continued.

The Seraphim’s brow twitched slightly. He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned his head to me, and I found myself looking into the face of an eagle.

"Leave!" he ordered threateningly.

The cold water was freezing my privates. I wouldn’t get prostatitis, but the sensation wasn’t pleasant. The cold numbed my legs. Reality sent me a debuff alert:
Hostile environment, agility and mobility are lowered.

I bowed my head even lower, swallowing my pride and demonstrating humility. "It’s not for me, it’s for a friend…" I stoped for a second, deciding if it was best to tell the truth. "A girlfriend, actually. She had given her life for me, threw herself into the Sun God’s fire and hasn’t been reborn since then."

The Seraphim folded his arms over his chest. His feathers bristled up even more to hide the runes his companions were drawing on an arch. I wondered if he was ashamed of the fact that they had to resort to despised rituals.

Before I even blinked, the archangel’s head turned again, showing me its next face. The heavy gaze of a calf fell upon me. "Leave!"

I frowned. Was this really the great Unconditional Good?

I reached into my inventory and at the same time looked through my inner interface slots; the perfect way to get a mild schizophrenia. It was hard to find anything in the spatial pocket by a different means as its size was limited only by the owner’s maximum weight load, however ridiculous that might sound. So in my case, that was about one and a half tons.

I scooped up a big handful of Demonic Soul Crystals. That’s what the Doorkeeper Seraphim always wanted for opening a portal to the Seventh Heaven. For over two years, the quest giant had been standing here even in the harshest weather, awaiting his hero. But of course, no hero came, for I had a monopoly on farming Inferno.

"I can pay you," I said. "Help me find the soul of the one who has given her life for another!" I opened my palm and showed him the crystals wrapped in volcanic flames.

The Seraphim swallowed hard. He tried to look away, but his eyes would not obey and were glued to the desired stones. I swear by all the gods, he actually craved them. An archangel fighting temptation is quite a sight!

"Leave!" he replied in a flat voice, placing his hands on the hilts of his swords and showing me his last face – a lion’s face.

Getting turned down three times in a row, the animal faces, the hidden aggression, and losing hope all finally prompted me to resort to brute force. I threw the precious crystals into the sea. The Adamant Gauntlet slipped on my right hand on its own. Its blades glittered threateningly in the sun, reflecting in the quivering water. Twitching excitedly, the artifact whispered passionately into my ear: "By the right of the strongest, kill and take what’s yours!"

The archangel shuddered. A tear flowed down the leonine face. "The heart of the Sun God…I had served him in other worlds, before Chaos poisoned his soul…He gave in to weakness and began to crave power. Now you’re heading down that same path. The artifact will change you, and you will change this world. Another world will be destroyed…"

Drip.
Another tear rand down the snow-white tunic. It crystallized, becoming an uncut diamond with unknown properties, then disappeared in the icy waters of the Baltic Sea.

I looked at the gauntlet of indestructible and omnipotent adamant on my hand. Will this nugget really turn all of AlterWorld into a black hole one day?

The muscles in my forearm tensed up against my will. The gauntlet was calling me, pulling me forward, trying to determine the right signals to send to my brain by trial and error. The artifact craved to claim another victim and draw one step closer to its initiation. One day, it would find the key to my soul, and I would become its mute puppet…Truly I fear what I have created!

Closing my eyes, I clenched my fist as hard as I could, picturing myself to be a 100-ton industrial press.
I have spawned you, and so I shall destroy you!

I overcame all physical limitations. My muscles ignored the body’s signals to stop and applied unbelievable pressure. That same thing happens to mothers who lift cars off the ground to rescue their children from underneath.

Mind over matter.
My wrist got deformed as it crushed the adamant along with its own delicate flesh.

Will over pain.
The adamant blades pierced my palm and cut my fingers. But the realization that I was doing the right thing stilled my fear and froze my nerves.