43. Chapter Forty-Three #2
Cody sighed. I promise to take you out into the woods so you can fuck giant mushrooms more often. Now, do you mind? I need to get back to my harem now. And you need to let Nyrah block you when we…you know.
When you fuck that pussy cat’s pussy? Yeah.
Fine. It’d be weird to be in the girl's head during that anyway, Knife said. She already thinks about your cock way too often for my liking. And by the way, she has no fucking clue what your cock even looks like. She doesn’t know shit about sex besides the fact that that’s how babies are made.
Oh, and she’s done some experimental masturbation stuff while sucking on your toothbrush.
She what now? Cody asked.
For the record, I wasn’t there for it, but I caught a glimpse of her memory. I have instructed her to stop brushing her teeth with your toothbrush.
Well, thanks for that weird info, Cody said. Mind if I—
Before Cody could finish his sentence, a giant, sparkling pink cloud appeared in the center of the room. Temica materialized from the sparkles, with Henry perched on her shoulder.
“A little birdy told me you have done some major level ups,” Temica said to Cody. “Marriage unlocked with Morgan, and Romance unlocked with both Nyrah and Yana. Impressive.”
“Thanks? But you weren’t invited to this chat. So: leave now.”
“I’ll leave when I’m ready.” Temica turned to survey the three women seated on the couch.
Her jaw tensed, as if she was clenching her teeth.
“You’re all getting along.” It was not a question, it was a statement.
She turned back to Cody. “This was not part of my plan. This is the exact opposite of my plan.”
Cody couldn’t help but smile. “We know.”
“We’re a harem now!” Nyrah announced, grinning.
Henry squawked loudly and Systemica spun around to face Nyrah. “You little brat! I brought you here. I brought all of you here to create chaos! And instead…instead…”
“We’re in love!” Nyrah got to her feet, facing down Temica. Except she was a whole head shorter and had to look up at the witch-goddess.
Temica shook her head, her eyes darting around the room. “No. No, this isn’t happening.” She looked at Cody and Henry squawked again. “This needs to end! You have one week to complete the Cottage Country game.”
“And if I win, you leave?” Cody asked, wanting confirmation that they were right about their theory: finishing the game meant getting rid of Temica.
“Yes, I’ll leave,” Temica said. “But if you fail, you and everyone connected to the game dies. Your Friends and all your Romance options. Gone.” She snapped her fingers for extra emphasis.
“What? No!” Morgan jumped to her feet next to Nyrah. Yana stood, too. All three of them looked like they wanted to bitch-slap Temica. Several times. Or worse.
Everyone? Cody thought. That meant Morgan, Nyrah, Yana…all the Friends he’d made in Cornerstone. And Gracie. She was in her own game, but she was also connected to his. She was just an eight-year-old kid. She didn’t deserve to die. None of them deserved to die.
Cody stood up. “I don’t accept those terms.”
Temica laughed in his face. “You say that as if you have a choice. You don’t. I get one little week of complete chaos as you scramble to finish the game, and then you fail and you all die, and I move on to something new to entertain me.”
Fucking bitch, Knife grumbled. Cody fully agreed with that statement.
There was a low growling noise. At first, Cody wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but then Nyrah launched herself at Temica in a burst of red light, her claws out.
Temica poofed into a cloud of pink sparkles only to reappear on the other side of the living room.
Nyrah’s outstretched claws raked through empty space, and she landed in a crouch.
She spun around, spotted Temica, and growled.
She rushed at Temica again, wings launching her forward even faster this time.
Temica darted out of the way, and Henry went flying off her shoulder to land on the top of the bookshelf.
“I want to rip your stupid eyes out and shove them up your ass!” Nyrah screamed.
Cody tried to grab Nyrah, to hold her back from another dangerous attack, but she was too strong.
She slipped from his grasp and flung herself back into the fight.
This time the witch-goddess side-stepped, but Yana was right there, ready.
Yana’s hands crackled with silver spark magic as she jumped onto Temica’s back and braced her arms around her neck, sparks flying.
Temica grimaced and flung herself back, smashing into the floor on top of Yana and knocking the wind out of the girl.
Yana’s arms loosened and the silver sparks dissipated as she coughed, gasping for air, and Temica broke free.
Let’s do this! Knife said. Cut that bitch!
Cody gritted his teeth and gripped Knife, trying to lunge at Temica in her moment of distraction as she got back to her feet.
But everything felt so slow compared to how he used to feel, back in Velasarin.
Temica shoved him away with one hand, as if he was made of paper, and he slammed into the opposite wall, sending a framed family photo crashing to the floor.
Well, that sucked, Knife said.
Cody coughed. No kidding.
His chest hurt where Temica’s palm had struck him, there was a flare of pain in his back where he had met the wall, and his entire body ached. Fighting on Earth really sucked, especially when matched up against a witch-goddess.
But Nyrah was rushing at Temica again. This time, she managed to slash her claws across the witch-goddess’s face.
A bloody gash opened on Temica’s cheek, only to seal back up in a puff of pink sparkles, her beautiful face completely unscathed once more.
Temica smirked and backhanded Nyrah. The nekofae tumbled across the floor, crashing into Morgan.
“Shit!” Cody ran over to Nyrah to make sure she was okay. As soon as he got to her, she was already growling and jumping back to her feet.
“I’m fine! I am stronger than I look!”
Morgan gave a knowing look to Cody. “She is.”
Yana was back on her feet, too. Her hands sparked with silver magic. She narrowed her eyes at the witch-goddess, but Temica was looking bored, and yawning theatrically with hand over her mouth.
“Is that all?” Temica asked. “Can we be done with this now?”
“No!” Yana shouted. She was running at Temica when Henry swooped down.
Yana moved out of the way, but not quite fast enough.
Henry’s talons scraped across Yana’s forehead.
Thick beads of blood formed instantly and dripped down her face.
She tried brushing the blood away before it got in her eyes, smearing it across her forehead, but more rivulets of blood dripped down.
“Stupid chicken!” Yana shouted and shot a blast of silver sparks at the bird.
Henry swerved, and the sparks exploded against the living room wall, leaving a blackened scorch mark.
Henry attacked Yana again, claws aimed at her face.
He missed, and she unleashed another powerful burst of sparks.
She missed, too, though the sparks exploded against the wall.
Cody winced. “Careful, Yana! Please don’t burn the cottage down!”
Meanwhile, Morgan and Nyrah had both grabbed hardcover books from the shelf next to them and hurled the volumes at Temica. Morgan’s book managed to hit the witch-goddess squarely on the head. Not that it mattered. She looked unphased by the direct hit.
Temica laughed. “Really? Books? You think you can defeat a fucking goddess by hitting me with a book?”
C’mon, Cody, Knife said. Do something!
“Stop!” Cody shouted, brandishing Knife. “All of you! Fucking stop!”
Yana and Morgan were both arming themselves with books.
Nyrah was crouched, claws out, ready to launch another attack. “Why? She threatened your life. All of our lives!”
“This bitch needs to die!” Morgan gripped another hardcover book, looking like she was ready to smash Temica with it.
“And the chicken dies, too!” Yana shouted.
Cody took a deep breath and looked Temica in the eyes. “I…accept. If I complete the game by the end of this week, I win. You leave. No one gets hurt, no one dies, and I never see you again for the rest of my life. And if I don’t finish the game…”
Morgan turned to Cody, her eyes welling with tears. “Cody, you can’t agree to that! Gracie is part of the game!”
“I know. But this—” Cody motioned to the cat-fight “—this is not how we win.”
“I agree.” Temica straightened out her pink gown and ran her hand through her hair. “As delicious as that little tussle was, you will never defeat me through physical combat.”
“I don’t know, bitch,” Morgan said. “Another couple of books to the head and we’d have you. Seems to me like you were losing.”
“I was not,” Temica said. “Henry. To me.”
The parrot flapped over to land on her shoulder, and the witch-goddess swept out of the cottage, slamming the door behind her.