Chapter Nineteen
The Hospitality Mage shushed him.
Vester blinked, shocked, then forced his mouth closed.
He didn’t want to interrupt Krysta—not when it was obvious the pandali was doing everything in her power for his brother.
He heard a trio of thumps to his left and looked up to see the three raised corpses were clawing at the boundary of the Sanctuary.
Reve, the unseen hand that had yanked Vester into Krysta’s temporary Safe Zone, had begun gathering stones and shattering them to create a swirling cloud of jagged shards.
They were orbiting the woman as she lazily flapped in midair; at the moment, her entire attention was focused on the scorpion-bodied monsters.
Li Ra was standing off to one side, a pistol in each hand, and kneeling before her were Rachel, Davis, and Emma. Emma was draped half-across Davis’ lap, her eyes closed, and he was channeling white energy into her body to repair the damage she’d done to herself.
I’m glad we’ve got someone who can watch over them, he thought.
A hand came down onto Vester’s shoulder, and he twitched before realizing it was Skylar. “How do we stop the skeleton?” she asked him in a quiet voice. Despite the active combat going on just outside the Sanctuary borders, there was a hush inside the camp that hung over Vester like a blanket.
“I’m not sure,” Vester replied. “It’s that bastard Jack, back from the dead. I’m betting that the Goddess of Death chose him for an Avatar, which means he might be unkillable. If she can do it for my curse, she must be able to do it for her chosen on Ordinal.”
Vester’s eyes rested on Reve for a moment, contemplating that the Avatar of Life had pulled Denny into the Sanctuary.
Reve had every reason to hate Denny; Vester’s twin had been responsible for Reve losing her arm, her leg, and her eye—all while invading the nation she called home for the Church of Light.
Really going to have to do something to thank her…
Though at the moment, Reve was trying to turn three powerful undead into mincemeat by surrounding them in a cloud of swirling stone fragments and grinding away at their chitin and bone. The creatures were proving far more durable against physical attacks than they had been against Rachel and Davis.
“Vester?” Skylar asked, squeezing his shoulder. “You okay?”
“I’m tired,” he admitted. “I never wanted to be put in a position where I had fight Denny, or fight his friends… I just wanted to live my life. All of this is so complicated.” He felt like he was whining, and that made him straighten up. “But let’s get some of this taken care of.”
Taking Skylar by the hand, Vester strode over to where Li Ra was standing guard over Denny’s Party.
“You two ready to earn your keep?” he asked Rachel and Davis.
When they stared at him confusion, Vester pointed his cane at the three thrashing monsters.
“Them. Your spells can bring them down. Go do it.”
“What the hell!?” Davis protested. “You—”
“No,” Vester said coldly. “No arguments, no protests. Blast those fucks with a healing spell or burn their souls—I don’t give a shit which. Destroy them so we can focus on making sure Denny survives the wounds Jack gave him.”
“I knew it was Jack,” Rachel hissed. That drew Vester’s attention, and the mousy brunette blushed. Her blue eyes stared up at him in confusion, and Vester swore she was… arching her back in his direction?
Is she trying to seduce me? he wondered. I admire the hustle, but Rachel you’re going to have to get in line. I don’t have time for this.
“Yes, yes, you’re very smart, now shut up,” Vester snapped. “Make with the magic. My maze won’t hold Jack long, and if he’s the Avatar of Death then he can’t actually die. We need a plan, and to do that we need to get rid of the distractions.”
The slim brunette looked at her brother, and the blond nodded.
Together, the pair rose and turned their attention on the trio of raging corpses so they could throw the weight of their magic behind Reve’s telekinetic assault.
It only took a single spell from each before the damage Reve had been doing overwhelmed the undead and they crumbled to pieces.
“What now?” Rachel asked. Vester had noticed she was more assertive than her brother… and far smarter than her half-brother Jack. That wasn’t a high bar, but he did appreciate that she’d cleared it. “And did you quote the dad from Princess Bride?”
“Grandfather,” Vester replied without thinking, a little scandalized. “Peter Falk was Savage’s grandpa, not his father.”
“I knew it, you are from Earth!” Davis said, grinning like he’d won some kind of prize. Vester almost expected him to clap from the look of joy on his face. Beside Davis, Rachel was looking smug, and Vester realized the woman had baited him.
“Ugh, yes, fine, I’m from Earth,” Vester admitted. “And since you’ve been helping my twin brother try to murder me, I’d appreciate some fucking cooperation!” With Vester’s cane pointing in the direction of the collapsed Denny, there was no questioning who he was talking about.
Rachel’s face paled, and Vester could see the pieces all start dropping into place. Davis turned green, looking nauseous. “V-V-Vester Gambit,” Davis mumbled. “H-how did we not make that connection? Y-you didn’t even change your name. W-what?”
“Peace’s influence,” Rachel responded, her expression turning icy.
“We knew the goddess was messing with our heads. The greater the Blessing, the worse the tampering. Emma and Denny are basically space cadets, but you and I suffer from it too. Kimmy’s the only one without Peace’s Blessing. The goddess claimed she was… not suited.”
Skylar snorted. “More like Peace wouldn’t bless a felid,” she said, joining the conversation for the first time.
Vester appreciated that she’d never taken her supportive hand from his shoulder, and how she stood close enough for him to feel her warmth on his back.
Skylar had been letting him lead, but now she stepped to his side.
“Peace hates non-humans, but she’ll tolerate elves and dwarves. She doesn’t give them the same gifts. Haven’t you ever wondered why all of her Clerics, Priests, High Priests, and Bishops are human?”
“Whaaaaa…” Davis trailed off, obviously thinking harder about what he’d seen. “Fuck, they’re right,” he whispered, almost to himself. “I think I saw an elf High Cleric once, but that’s it. Wait, does that mean…?” The Lightmender’s eyes went to Reve, and Vester took a guess at the man’s question.
“That you were invading a peaceful nation of non-humans on behalf of a racist god? Yeah, afraid so,” Vester confirmed.
“They’re sitting on a mountain of mithril, and Peace’s followers want it.”
Vester took a second, a deep breath, then help up his hand, pausing the discussion.
“All that bullshit can wait. You’re a healer, Davis, so get your ass over to Denny and help Krysta purify whatever Jack stabbed him with.”
The blond man bolted, not needing to be told twice.
Davis was so rushed he looked ready to fall over while running, but he managed to keep his balance until he dropped to his knees at Denny’s side.
Krysta gave him a single glance, then let him work.
Vester noticed that the pandali was starting to look pale from how much energy she was putting into Denny.
“Skylar, can you go make Krysta drink a mana potion?” he asked his lover quietly. “She’s almost out, and if her mana collapses, we lose both the Sanctuary and its cleansing effects. We can’t let anything slip.”
Skylar took one look at Krysta, then kissed Vester’s cheek and ran off to take care of the pandali.
Vester turned his attention back to Rachel and found the brunette studying him.
He studied her right back. She was a little taller than him now, though not by much.
She was slim and lithe, with a petite figure.
She had her long hair pulled back into a solid braid, and her clothing lacked ornamentation.
Everything about her seems intended to make people ignore her, he thought. She’s doing absolutely nothing to draw attention to herself, and she clearly censors what she says around others. She knows she’s in a fucked-up situation and has been trying to stay under the radar.
Rachel shifted, cocking one hip slightly and adding a hint of arch to her back to push out her chest. One foot shifted out the side, and her hand settled on that hip, like she was provoking him to check her out.
“Do you really think I’m going to be thinking about sex while my brother is dying, and a complete dickhead has been turned into a potentially unstoppable, undead killing machine?”
he asked with genuine curiosity. “I know it’s common knowledge my Party and I are in a relationship, but that doesn’t make me a total horndog. I know how to prioritize.”
The Soulsage flushed—not much, but enough for Vester to see pink spread across her cheeks and the tips of her ears.
“You’re… not what I was expecting,” she said.
“Denny seemed to barely remember having a brother, and his attention would wander any time the subject of family came up. Jack was actually the one who brought you up the most times, just saying how grateful he was you weren’t around. He’d shit talk with Denny and make you sound like a lazy,
useless idiot, but even then Denny would barely react, just make vague noises and talk about anything else.”
“Why am I not surprised Jack insulted me without even realizing I was here,” Vester muttered while taking a moment to rub the bridge of his nose between his fingers and thumb.
“The guy is such a tool.” Vester lowered his hand.
“I’ve had two separate gods confirm that Peace has wrecked Denny’s mind, so the rest of what you said tracks.”
“Two gods?” she asked, shocked. “How are you talking to two different gods?”
Vester let out a harsh laugh, then he pointed his cane at Reve.
“Avatar of Life,” he said calmly, then brought his cane down and tapped the knob against his chest.
“Avatar of Change,” he concluded. At the last moment he’d swapped Chaos for Change, just to make himself sound a little less sinister.
“Denny might be the Hero here on Ordinal, but Reve and I are actual divine agents. Why do you think Peace wanted you all to get rid of us so bad? I’m cursed, so loyal followers of the Church of Light hate me in proportion to their depth of faith.”
The wheels were visibly turning behind Rachel’s eyes, and then she shifted her gaze to look at Emma, who was sleeping.
Emma’s face was sweaty, and her black hair was a tangled mess around her head.
Her pale skin looked gray, though the cracks that had been oozing blood had scabbed over.
Faint scars ran all over Emma, making Vester think she’d look like broken porcelain if her skin tone were healthier.
“She’s going to be a problem—she directly channels Peace’s power,” Rachel said.
“It’s killing her, but she won’t stop. She thinks Peace is everything her church back home promised her: love, kindness, light, hope, understanding—but it’s burning her up from the inside out and not in a good way. I don’t think she’s capable of going against the church.”
“It’s only a problem if she wakes up,” Li Ra said.
The oni had never moved from where she’d been standing guard, and she hadn’t put away her pistols.
She still held them in a relaxed grip that could rise and fire in a split-second.
Rachel jumped and Vester realized the Soulsage had entirely forgotten the quiet oni was there.
“W-what do you mean if she wakes up?” Rachel asked. Fear and anxiety spread across Rachel’s features, and Vester watched the mage struggle with the implications, because he suspected some part of Rachel already understood. The woman glanced back and forth between Emma and Denny. “Oh…”
“Yeah,” Vester said. He felt like a lead weight was forming in his chest and trying to drag his heart down to his feet. “If Emma is reinforcing Peace’s hold on Denny, then Denny is safer if Emma is gone.”
“But they’re dating!” Rachel protested. “Like, really dating. Seriously. Denny bought a ring and everything. They’ve been together for months now. They even talked about having kids when the war is over! Emma just wants to finish the task the goddess gave her so she can settle down and be a mom!”
Vester wanted to scream. It wasn’t even that he didn’t know Emma and Denny were dating—he’d overheard enough to realize it.
He’d just been trying to avoid thinking about it.
It was hard enough to contemplate killing the girl in cold blood, especially when one of his Party would have to do it for him, but having the relationship rubbed in his face made all of it worse.
“Does she need anything to cast? Focus, words, gestures?”
Vester demanded. When Rachel confirmed that Emma needed her divine icons and to speak a prayer for most of her spells, Vester looked to Li Ra.
“Please strip her of everything, wrap her in something so she’s not naked, and then gag her and tie her up so she can barely twitch. If we’re letting her live, we’re doing everything we can to make sure she can’t cause trouble.”
Li just nodded, already materializing rope and some spare blankets from her inventory. Rachel stared in shock to see the stuff just appear in midair. “You really do have a storage skill! They’re so rare, how do so many people in your Party have it?”
“Yeah, it’s a perk from fucking me,” Vester said, barely paying attention to her at the moment. His mind was racing and he needed to center himself before he made a dumb decision. He started walking toward Krysta and Rachel followed alongside him. “Can we get Kimmy to calm down?”
The catgirl and Kora were still engaged in their fight, with Ripper continuing to help Kora.
Vester was genuinely shocked that it appeared to be a draw.
He knew how powerful Kora and Ripper were, so to see that Kimmy was still going against them, healing herself and keeping herself in the fight, shocked him. Her class was incredibly strong.
“Not unless you’ve got a boombox,” Rachel said with a shake of her head.
“Her class is supposed to work with music, but Kimmy hates that stuff they play on this world. She’s a Swiftie, or something like that? That Taylor woman. Anyway, she says the stuff they play here just makes her angrier.
But her class is a combination of berserker and dancer—the longer she’s fighting the stronger she gets, until she wins or collapses.”
Vester paused, tilting his head. It took but a moment for him to focus on a spot to Kimmy’s left, and then reality shifted.
A blonde in a beige corset top and black skirt simply appeared and the music began pounding.
‘~cause baby now we got bad blood…~’ the illusion began, and Kimmy’s reaction was immediate.
Vester really hadn’t expected the athletic felid to just collapse into a sobbing mess on the stones.