The Once King Read online

  “I’m fine, really,” she said, much more sanely this time. “It’s just intense. You try doubling your base stats and see how you feel. It’s heady stuff.”

  Zen frowned. “If it worked, why does it still look like that?”

  Blinking in surprise, Tina looked down at her necklace…which was still stonekin-sized. “Shit,” she said, grabbing the giant ruby in both hands. “Why isn’t it getting smaller?! It always got smaller in the game!”

  “This isn’t a game anymore,” James reminded her.

  “Well, that’s a problem,” Tina whispered frantically, glancing at Cinco, who was watching all of this with a murderous scowl. “Stats are no good if the gear doesn’t fit!”

  “You need a crafter.”

  Tina jumped and looked over to see SB, who was suddenly standing right beside her. “We had this problem making armor at Camp Comeback, remember?” the elf whispered, his voice smooth and professional and tightly controlled.

  Tina scowled, trying to recall. Her smithing at Camp Comeback had been a blur of cranking out armor and weapons as fast as physically possible. As the only max-skill blacksmith, her time had been super valuable, so she’d left the actual fitting and binding of gear to the lower-level smiths. When she didn’t answer immediately, Blayde helped her out.

  “You need to use the Prayer to the Silent Moon to resize it.”

  “Oh yeah,” she said, feeling dumb. In her defense, she usually only made gear for herself, which meant it didn’t need resizing. Also, this was a necklace, not plate armor, which meant her intuitive blacksmithing knowledge wasn’t kicking in. She didn’t even know if she could use her skill on things that weren’t armor.

  “Can you do it?” she asked SB. “You’re a jewel crafter.”

  The words were out of her mouth before Tina realized what she’d said. If it wouldn’t have made her look like an idiot, she would have eaten those words right back and just tied the oversized necklace around her shoulders, but everyone was staring. Both the Roughnecks and Red Sands were clustered around her, watching with bated breath to see how this played out. Backing out because she couldn’t handle her feelings around her ex would prove she was every bit as weak as Cinco thought, so Tina set her jaw and stared SilentBlayde right in his breathtaking eyes.

  “Please,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Hands shaking, SilentBlayde reached out to take the giant amulet. Removing his gloves, he ran his fingers over the fire ruby’s beveled surface, muttering under his breath as he went.

  “What’s this Prayer to the Silent Moon?” James whispered to Tina while the elf worked.

  She gaped at him. “Don’t you know? I thought you were Mr. Lore.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not a crafter,” her brother said defensively. “My skills are herbalism and alchemy.”

  Tina grinned. It wasn’t every day she got one up on her walking wiki of a brother, and she took great pride in explaining it to him. “The Prayer to the Silent Moon is a side skill that any crafter can learn. You don’t even have to get it if you don’t care, but it’s super useful if you want to sell your stuff on the auction house. You know how everything you make is automatically sized for your character, right? Well, the Prayer of the Silent Moon fixes that. It makes your stuff flexible so it can change to fit whoever buys it and you’re not stuck selling to only other female stonekin or whatever.”

  “I get that part,” James said. “But why is it a prayer of the Moon? I thought the Moon god was gone.”

  “Hell if I know,” Tina said with a shrug. “It’s just the name of the skill. Makes sense, though. I mean, the moon is always changing, so if you want your stuff to change as well, that’s who you’d want to pray to.”

  James looked at her as if she’d just said something deeply profound. Before Tina could ask him what was up, though, the amulet in SB’s hands flashed bright purple. When the light faded, the giant necklace was less than half the size it had been originally. It was still comically huge—the ruby was the size of her fist, and the chain was long enough to hang to her belly button—but it slid easily over her head when SB gave it back, resting on her shoulders like it had been made to be there.

  “Hell yeah,” she said, grinning down at the giant gem. Then she raised her eyes to Cinco, who looked like he’d just taken a big bite out of a rotten fish. “That good enough for you?”

  “No,” the Berserker growled, giving her the ugliest sneer Tina had ever seen. “This doesn’t change shit.”

  “What are you talking about?” Tina demanded. “You said you were taking my gear because you didn’t know if I could wear it, but guess what, jackass.” She thumped the amulet around her neck. “I can wear it just fine.”

  “And that doesn’t change shit,” Cinco snarled back. “Look at you! You look like a kid playing dress-up. You think you can tank the Once King?”

  Tina scowled. “I know I can. Once I’ve got my gear—”

  “Fuck your gear!” he roared. “You’re the one who’s always going on about how this isn’t a game anymore, but a game is the only place where it makes sense that a little girl”—he gave her a shove that made her step back —”can take hits from a dude who’s literally ten feet tall. Roxxy made sense. Roxxy was a mountain! You’re ninety pounds of bones and hair.”

  “I won’t be once I have my stuff!” Tina yelled.

  “No, then you’ll be ninety pounds of bones in a tin can,” the Berserker spat. “All that magical bullcrap is doing is juicing you up so you won’t die in one hit, but it can’t change physics. You’re still too small, too light, too weak, and too short. It doesn’t matter what kind of monkey suit you wear. The Once King’s sword can still go right over your head to chop off ours.” His lip curled in disgust. “Face it, sweetheart, you’re done. Being level eighty doesn’t change who you are, and you’re literally too short for this ride. If you were really serious about winning, you’d give that armor to a guy who’s big enough to actually make good use of it instead of milking the stats to shore up your short-girl complex.”

  Tina clenched her fists so tight her nails cut into her palm. How dare he. How dare he. “You think gear is what makes me a tank?!”

  “If the shoe fits, baby,” Cinco snarled back, looking around at his guild, who were all nodding in agreement. “We didn’t come all the way out here so you could play dress-up. We’re here to save the goddamn world, and we’ve never had a better chance. We all saw the Once King stagger away. Bitch is weak, which means we’ve got to hit him hard and hit him now, before he manas up.” He shoved his giant hand into Tina’s face. “Give me that armor and I’ll put it on a man who can actually do the job. We’ll give your shield to Garrond, and then we’ll take our fucking army and tear that stupid elf’s wings off! All you have to do is sit your pretty ass down in your elf boyfriend’s tent and wait for us to come back.”

  Tina bared her teeth at him. “And if I don’t?”

  Cinco leaned down, flashing her a savage grin. “Then I’ll fucking take it. We’re the PvP guild. You’re a pick-up raid of filthy casuals whose only actually good player just turned into a little fucking girl. You don’t stand a chance.”

  Tina stared up at his looming face, wishing like hell he wasn’t so much bigger. He never would have said this shit to Roxxy, but that was the whole problem, wasn’t it? He’d respected Roxxy precisely because he couldn’t push her around, but Tina was weak. Tina was nothing, and so he’d stomped all over her just like he did the NPCs. She couldn’t even claim she hadn’t known. Cinco showed his true colors every chance he got, but he’d been so good at flattering her ego that she’d ignored the warning signs. Now he’d turned on her, and Tina felt like an idiot for not seeing it coming.

  But if he thought she was just going to roll over because he was huge and scary, he had another think coming. She’d seen the Red Sands fight King Gregory. They couldn’t even handle the gentle king for five minutes before they fell apart. Tina knew the Once King’s battle-math by heart. It took ni
ne minutes minimum to get him down to thirty percent health, and that was with a full Dead Mountain–geared raid going whole hog on him. There was no chance that sort of damage was going to happen with their current makeup, which meant his plan was doomed from the start. The Red Sands players were just too aggressive and dickish, too eager to take risks to deal their damage. Those traits made them great against fellow players, but they didn’t have the patience or teamwork needed for a long fight against a real five-skull, and that was why they failed. Her armor wouldn’t change that any more than putting a shield on Garrond would make him a tank.

  That was the bit that really ticked her off. The Order’s commander was a four-skull with millions of health. All that HP meant he could take hits all day, but he was a paladin, not a Knight. He specialized in smiting shit and cleaving it in half with his giant sword, not tanking. He had none of the abilities that let him avoid getting damaged, which was what made player Knights so powerful. If Cinco put Garrond in the fight, keeping his giant health pool full would run the healers dry in no time. It was a stupid idea that was going to get a lot of people killed, and the fact that Cinco didn’t realize that proved that he had no idea what he was talking about.

  But as much as Tina was dying to rub all of that in Cinco’s smug face, the situation was rapidly deteriorating. All around her, players were taking sides, the Roughnecks and Red Sands facing off like they were ready to throw down here and now. But while Tina would bet on her people in a heartbeat, any fight here was one they couldn’t afford. Their strategy to beat the Once King relied on Cinco’s raid being there to act as backup. If they killed each other now, they wouldn’t have the manpower to do what they’d actually come to the Deadlands to do.

  Any fool could have seen that, but it didn’t look like Cinco was going to take no—or any sort of logic—for an answer. There was only one type of reply macho assholes like him would listen to. Fortunately, it was one Tina was all too happy to give.

  “You’re a fucking idiot,” she told him. “But fine. If you want my armor so badly, I’ll make you an offer.”

  “You’re acting like you’ve still got options here,” CincoDeMurder said haughtily. “But I’ll play. What you got, Care Bear?”

  Tina bared her teeth at the old insult. “Duel me,” she growled. “To the perma-death.”

  A murmur went through the crowd as Cinco’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you crazy?” he spat.

  “No, I’m serious,” Tina replied, sneering up at him since she couldn’t sneer down. “My gear is mine. The only way you’re getting it from me is if you’re personally willing and able to kill me and unbind it that way.” She lifted her chin. “You think I can’t tank just cause I’m in this body now? Fight me yourself and prove it. Winner gets my armor. Loser doesn’t get a rez.”

  By the time she finished, all the raiders were silent in shock, but Cinco just set his jaw and reached out slowly with the hand that wasn’t holding his spear to poke his finger into the hollow of Tina’s chest. “You think I won’t hit you because you’re a girl?” he said quietly. “Cause I will. I’ll fucking kill you and strip the armor off your cold, dead body. Just see if I don’t.”

  He pushed as he spoke, forcing Tina to stiffen her body to avoid being pushed over. Cinco increased the pressure with ease, causing her bare feet to slide backward through the dirt as he extended his arm. She ended up traveling a full foot before he ran out of reach, but at least she didn’t fall.

  “Talk doesn’t mean shit,” Tina said, drawing herself up to her full four-foot-eleven-and-a-half inches. “Man up and say you’ll accept, or get the fuck out of my face.”

  “It’s your death wish, baby,” Cinco said, spreading his hands. “I’ll give you one hour to get your gear back on, ‘cause I’m a gentleman.” He turned and pointed toward the edge of camp, where a deep, rocky gorge cut the dusty ground like a scar. “We’ll do it over there by the cliff. It’ll give me a nice place to pitch your corpse after I strip your armor.”

  “Deal,” Tina said, looking over her shoulder at Frank, who was still crouched protectively over her gear. “Help me carry my stuff back to the command tent. I’ve got an idiot to spank.”

  Nodding nervously, Frank gathered her armor into his arms. Tina tried to help, but with only the amulet, the only things she could carry were her bracers, rings, and belt. Frank and Zen picked up the rest while the Roughnecks stood guard, and then the whole raid marched together back to the command tent.

  The walk back across camp felt like miles. Part of that was her new short legs, but mostly it was Tina. It had been easy to be brave while Cinco was in her face pissing her off, but now that it was over, the reality of what she’d just done grew starker with every step. By the time she got to the tent, she was shaking violently. The only reason she didn’t break down was because everyone was still watching.

  “Thank you for having my back,” she told her raid.

  “Least we could do,” Frank said, setting her giant chest piece on the dirt floor of the tent. “That man’s a right bastard, pardon my French.”

  “He’s a dirty thieving ninja is what he is,” Neko said fiercely, tail lashing. “Oooooooh, I wish the Report command still worked! I’d get the GMs to ban hammer him so hard.”

  Scared as she was, that image made Tina laugh. “I’d love to see that,” she said. “But there are no GMs anymore. We gotta settle this ourselves.”

  “We could get Garrond,” Zen suggested. “He could put Cinco in his place.”

  Tina was sure he could, but there was no way she was running to the paladin for help. Not after those words.

  “No,” she said firmly, clenching her hands in an effort to get her shaking under control. “If we appeal to Garrond, Cinco will just do it again the moment he sees an opening. The only way we’ll have peace again is if he understands on a visceral level that he can’t push me—or any of us—around.”

  The Ranger arched a perfect green eyebrow. “You sure? Because it’s not too late.”

  “Trust me, it’s waaaay too late,” Tina said with a wry smile. “I made this bed. I’ll lie in it. Now everyone get out except James. I’ve only got an hour, and Roxxy had a lot of gear.”

  With a lot of nervous looks, her officers left the tent, but the presence in her shadow didn’t. Annoyed, Tina reached up and opened the vent at the top of the tent to let in the sunlight. It was weak, gray, Deadlands light, but at just after noon, it was still enough to banish the shadows, and the elf hiding inside them. When she was sure they were alone, Tina took a deep breath and turned to her brother.

  “All right,” she said, hating how her voice shook. “How screwed am I?”

  Instead of answering, her brother reached out and pulled her into a hug. Tina hugged him back, squeezing her eyes tight so she wouldn’t cry. It was stupid, since this whole thing had been her idea, but now that it was done, all she could think about was how bad a gamble she’d made. Cinco was a PvP champion, and she’d challenged him on his turf. She’d tanked much bigger baddies than him, but those had been NPCs and monsters, and she’d had a raid to back her up. One on one with another human was a different beast entirely. A dangerous, deadly one.

  “Super screwed,” she muttered into his chest.

  “You’re not screwed,” James said. “I mean, I wouldn’t say challenging a known killer to a duel to the death is the best idea you’ve ever had, but I understand why you did it, and I think you can win.”

  “How?” Tina asked hopefully. “Do you have a trick up your sleeve? Some crazy-awesome new move you can teach me that he won’t expect?”

  James shook his head. “I’ve been trying to think of one, but Cinco’s the real deal. He’s an actual martial artist, not someone who’s been relying on his stats and moves from the game.”

  “You mean like me,” Tina said flatly.

  “That’s not what I said,” James protested, putting up his hands. “I’m just saying Cinco is a tough match, and as much as I’d like to, I can’t teac
h you to be a judo master in an hour. But I still think you can do it.”

  “But how?” Tina asked again, looking down at her scrawny, frail body. “If I was still Roxxy, I could crush him with my weight or something, but I’m not a stonekin anymore. I’m just a…just a Tina!”

  “What’s that matter?” James asked with a smile. “Roxxy wasn’t bigger than Grel’Darm or Sanguilar, and she wasn’t stronger than Malakai, but you still won those fights. You don’t need to be a stonekin to beat him, T. If I didn’t believe that, I’d be out there sabotaging Cinco right now.”

  “Really?” she said, surprised. “Wow. I mean, that’s so unlike you.”

  “What’s unlike me?” James demanded, flattening his ears and thumping his tail and generally looking so much like an offended cat that Tina almost laughed. “That I knew you were the awesomeness all along and not just your stonekin? I have more faith in you than you think.”

  “No, no,” Tina said. “I meant that you’d stoop to sabotaging Cinco. That seems really underhanded for you. I’m shook.” And touched, she added to herself.

  “Of course I’d sabotage him,” James said viciously. “Cinco’s reasons are bullshit, and I’m not letting some asshole kill my sister. I’d poison him myself if I didn’t think you could win, and I’d have plenty of help doing so.”

  He glanced at the small shadow under the bed as he finished, the only one left in the room, and Tina sighed. She could guess which Roughneck Assassin was lurking down there, but she didn’t try to force him out again. Cinco had sneaky Assassins, too, and her side might not be the only one considering some prefight foul play.

  “We’ll figure it out,” she said, reaching down to grab her gauntlet. “For now, though, let’s get this binding thing rolling. We don’t exactly have the luxury of time, but at least we have armor I can work with myself. You tie the magic to me, I’ll resize.”

  James nodded and got to work, spreading his fingers over the enchanted sun steel to collect the threads of power only he could see.