Chapter 570: The waiting
Michael Brown, former CIA senior leadership, and now imperial spymaster, waited for a god who’d destroy the world.
He sipped herbal tea and ate cucumber sandwiches with just the right amount of cream cheese. He’d made them personally because servants were always spies. And anyway, they never made them right.
He sat at his desk in his private office in the Palace of Man, the outer door locked, the inner door booby trapped. He’d be killed if Jeong had any idea what he was up to. But the risk and knowledge produced excitement in his chest, not anxiety.
Soon he’d watch Jeong die. He’d watch his ridiculous city burn along with everything and everyone else. It’s what they deserved. What all of mankind deserved. For their lying, cheating nature—for their terrible sins and the corruption of their own environment. The universe would be better off without them.
Michael.
“I’m here.”
He sat up straighter as Shadow Soul activated. It was through this power he’d first discovered the lord of shadows—the being lurking behind every patch of darkness. Always listening. Always watching. Their association had felt inspired.
The god of the abyss entered his mind like a cold snake slithering up his neck. He shivered and allowed it in, and his vision faded as he stared into the darkest hole of the darkest pit.
Knowledge, whispered the god of shadow. The enemy moves.
Michael squinted as the darkness in his eyes became rolling hills and sunshine. He soon saw the rebel players and civilians who’d fled Jeong those months ago. They looked tired and haggard as they marched after their leaders. His patron could see through the eyes of any of its demonic minions, so there must have been abyssal portals open nearby.
The rebels were less in number than they’d been. Skinny. It always made Michael smile to see people suffer, but their existence irked Jeong so much he’d been glad they’d escaped.
For a moment he didn’t understand why his divine ally had shown him this. What did he care for a bunch of doomed fools and nothings? But then he saw him—the ‘Wolf of the West’. The lapdog of some brute nature god. The man who’d beaten Michael in the arena. Who’d chewed his face before he ‘killed’ him.
Mason Nimitz.
Yess, tittered the god in Michael’s mind, as if amused. Hatred. Good.
The stupid child of a ‘baron’ must have used a teleportation beacon outside the capital. Michael had assumed they existed, though he didn’t know where. His patron couldn’t or wouldn’t tell him. It wasn’t clear why, but then the demonic god wasn’t in the habit of explaining himself.
“I could tell Jeong where he is.” Michael thought out loud. “That he’s here on the continent and vulnerable. Jeong could surprise him. Whoever wins, it’s one less enemy to stop us.”
No. The god’s answer cracked like a whip against Michael’s spine. Watch. Listen. Think.
The vision shifted again. Soon Michael was flying over a large mountain range he recognized. It was the eastern continent, certainly. He had traveled maybe half of it, and seen the collected maps.
Razor Mountain. South and west. Goblins and fire. Filled now with humans.
Michael’s vision swooped through a volcanic hole, a screeching sound as he descended into smoke and ash. He scurried through narrow rock and saw the claws and powerful body of his host, hardly able to keep up as the demon barreled down dark tunnels.
A hooded goblin entered his view, so small next to the powerful demon. It trembled in fear, then pointed a metallic hand. The demon snarled and stared through a hole in the wall, looking out over what looked like a goblin palace.
Busy humans and goblins filled a hall. They were talking and eating, moving crates and preparing tables. Michael saw players and civilians dressed like those country bumpkins he’d seen in the Neutral Zone, at least half still wearing a basic piece of clothing provided by the system.
They were all from the west. Dozens of them. The teleporter had to be there in the mountain. What else might they find? His mind raced as he considered.
Two days, whispered the demon lord. Then reunited. Unless…
Unless Michael and his demonic allies could get to them first.
He tried to think, to consider the possibilities. It wasn’t much time. Maybe he could figure out how to take the mountain, but it would involve Jeong and benefit Michael and his purpose not at all.
And what he truly wanted was to see Mason die. Jeong would have a chance, at least, especially with help and surprise. Surely a chance at killing a Nexus lord and the powerful ‘Avatar of Cerubus’ was more valuable than…
He shivered as the cold pulse of annoyance again lanced through his brain.
No. Horned prince—too strong in mind and body. But in spirit…
The demon scout staring at the humans focused its eyes. They locked on a tall, beautiful blonde in the center of everything, smiling and directing the chaos. Michael understood quickly. He knew who she was, as he knew several other of Mason’s lovers. He had their names and their family’s names. There was even a relative or two alive in the holy city.
He’d tried to convince Jeong of this very line of thinking—to destroy his enemy through his loved ones, his personal life. It was how most of the intelligence agencies functioned. And he’d at least managed to get him considering the families of Nassau in general. But like most politicians, the fool wouldn’t really listen.
Two days was maybe enough for an assassination. Michael could Shadow Walk to the mountain in half that time. And clearly his patron had useful allies nearby. He didn’t need to beat all the players. He only needed to watch and find the right moment to strike.
He couldn’t hurt the civilians. But the demons could. His job would be to get a few inside their defences. To distract, to clear a path, to isolate and destroy. It would be a shame he couldn’t take his time with it. But you had to work with what you had.
“Can you distract their patron? Buy me time?”
The demon god’s affirmation and pleasure was like a soothing caress down Michael’s neck.
“Another gift would make it easier,” he said, holding his breath at the risk. “To be taken back, of course, if I fail.”
His demonic patron was not a generous creature. It could agree to deals, and it seemed system-bound to honor them. It was why he’d accepted its offers in the first place—a gem to protect him from the final doom, an escape to the other planes to go wherever he pleased, when it was all over.
But benefiting anyone, for any reason, seemed to make the demon angry. Even its servants and allies.
The caress turned to a slap. Michael winced as the demon’s icy tendrils ripped from his mind in dismissal. He shivered as the contact ended, tasting blood as he licked dry lips. It had been worth the effort and risk. His first divine gift was amazing—an innate item that hid on his chest like a simple tattoo, yet was anything but.
It hurt, and bled frequently, and seemed only to stop when he hurt others. But that had never bothered him. They were all going to die anyway. Should die anyway. And there were always people who had displeased Jeong and been stripped of protection.
It would help him greatly in the mountain. That was certain.
He stood and dressed, undoing his traps and changing his chest bandages, running through the list of things he needed to handle before he left. Every minute might count now—each moment he might need to wait, and watch, to kill as many of Mason’s loved ones as he could before escaping.
The thought made him smile for the first time in weeks. He took his kit and his collection of magic items, hiding them all away as usual. Then he walked out into the palace to build himself two days of free time. And convince that fool Jeong to delay a weekly meeting.
**
“Come on, keep moving, out of the portal.”
Haley welcomed the last of the civilians into the goblin mountain, waving people on. It was a few of the Sanctuary girls—people who’d come with Sylvie and Carl from a settlement near the orcs. Most of the girls were university age, and had taken up with male players. Most of them were pregnant now, too.
They came out with wide eyes and excitement, carrying a few bags and giggling with their friends. Originally the Nexus teleporter needed a few days to re-activate, but Haley realized she could upgrade it to daily (at least for small groups) without many patron points. Mason had of course agreed. It made things much easier.
“There’s a bit of a trek,” Haley said. “Follow John there and hold the rope. If you drop it or anything goes wrong, stop where you are and call for help. It’s dark and there’s a million tunnels. OK?”
The girls nodded, and John’s girlfriend ran and leapt into his arms. The big Scot grinned and kissed her, then cleared his throat when he looked at Haley.
“This way, ladies. Um, Misses. uh, your ladyship. That is…Duchess…”
Haley smiled politely and waved him on. Unlike Mason, she never corrected anyone for using a title or treating her like royalty. It was useful, first of all, because she had all the official powers of her Duke husband, so she might as well have the unofficial, too. And yes, so sue her, she kind of liked it.
But she didn’t need to ‘walk’ the tunnels like the others. Her new, very useful, and very cute goblin friend (and fellow concubine) Lodie popped up behind her and grinned.
“Ready to zoom?”
Haley took a breath and smiled. She was still a little frightened of the goblin tech, but she couldn’t deny the speed and…well, fun.
She climbed up behind the goblin girl on her vehicle and leaned in to wrap her arms around her. It was basically a scooter, but the base or whatever you called it was very wide and easy to stand on. Haley mostly worried about bashing her head. She leaned right down and hugged Lodie tightly.
The goblin seemed to like it. And so did Haley. She could hardly wait to get back into bed with Mason and Lodie and maybe a few of the other girls, all of whom were now safe in the palace ahead.
“Ready,” she said. She still squealed and clutched with her arms as the goblin spun up her machine.
Lodie laughed and ‘zoomed’ them down some special engineering tunnel, made much smoother and for faster travel. Haley eventually opened her eyes, moving from fright to excitement as she held on and grinned from ear to ear as the walls flew by.
They were back in the city and the palace in minutes. Haley got off and gave Lodie a hug and a kiss on the cheek, pleased as her new friend blushed.
“Will big lord Mason be back soon?” the goblin said, putting her hands behind her back. Haley understood. ‘Will we all be climbing back into bed soon?’
“Yes, I think.” Haley smiled. “Your uncle has given all his official concubines rooms in a separate wing of the palace. You’re free to stay with us there, if you like.”
Lodie nodded excitedly, and Haley waved as she left for the next task on her list. She basically had to help settle everyone in, and get them all on the same page, with an understanding of the goblin king’s rules. There were places they weren’t really welcome, and a few customs they had to follow.
It was amazing so many of the girls had been willing to come to a ‘goblin mountain’, considering their history. But it showed how safe they felt now under Mason’s protection. Haley could relate.
She’d panicked after the Dreamwalk with Blake, but then she found the Gaia seed right where she left it, which meant Seul-ki hadn’t known to take it. One more imagined crisis avoided.
The demons in the mountain had been destroyed, just like the ones who attacked Nassau. Just as the Greenblood order and the orc invaders and everyone else who messed with Mason’s city. Haley was truly feeling on top of everything, like the new world was getting handled.
The new goblin tribe had become official allies, with system-enforced protections and a new resource called ‘magma crystals’ that was already trickling into the Nexus through their beacons. The crafters had been ecstatic and vanished into their buildings to experiment.
Haley hadn’t even been flustered when Mason’s new ‘friend’ had shown up riding on the back of some centaur. He’d told Haley she was coming, though it was still a bit of a shock to see her.
“G’day, mate. I’m Lila,” she’d said, ruffling the centaur’s hair like they were old friends. Then she dismounted at the gates of the ‘lower’ city, with a big, white smile.
The woman’s amazing body was displayed expertly, every curve understood and accentuated by her tribal clothes—the nipple piercings subtle but poking out just so.
“Welcome.” Haley had smiled and hugged her. “Mason said you’d be coming.”
Lila grabbed her like they were old friends, or maybe lovers, squeezed tight as she kissed her cheek.
“I love your accent,” she’d said, still holding on. “It’s so sexy. Are you sleeping with him, too? You must be. We should absolutely tag team. He exhausted me.”
Haley had been a little stunned. She approved of most of Mason’s conquests. Hell, she encouraged half of them. But she knew then this girl would be trouble.
She’d laughed like it was all a joke, then gotten Lila settled somewhere far away from the chief’s hall. She’d intended to leave her there, but when the Australian found out they were going to a goblin city she had insisted she come along.
“I’m a diplomat. That’s my class, darling. And I’ve already won over a tribe of centaurs. What do you need? From the gobbies, I mean. I’ll get it for you. Really, whatever you want.”
Somehow she’d managed to convince Haley to bring her in less than a day, which at least promised she’d make a good diplomat. But Haley was worried how she’d get on with the other girls.
Then Blake had Dreamwalked and given her his speech. She’d talked to Mason and told him about it, and she’d been surprised when he seemed…happy? Relieved?
“So he is with us,” he’d said, when Haley looked confused. “He’s in there making his own special brand of Blake chaos. He’s with us.” He’d lifted her up and kissed her, and she’d realized how much it hurt him to be separated and estranged from his brother.
Then the elves and Kiaan and the Greenblood scout had gone to work. They’d explored and ‘scried’ the east, and quickly found Chinua and the rebels. Mason and Demi went to protect them, and Mason got her a message through the scouts to say they’d be back in around two days.
Now here they all were, safe and figuring it out in the goblin city. Half the players were in their rooms with their girlfriends (and possibly goblin girls), the other half lounging at tables surrounded by female company, with all they could eat and drink.
The morale, you could say, was high. Even Phuong seemed relaxed, taking a rare moment to enjoy himself and indulge a little.
So yes, Haley felt safe, and happy. She was back in a world she understood—managing people and relationships and all the entertaining chaos that followed.
All she had to do was keep things stable, and keep Mason’s girls comfortable and happy and waiting for his return.
And when she thought about what would happen when he did, she could barely stand the waiting…