“This plan sucks,” Aria said.

  We were crouched behind the short wall that surrounded the house. I had out my tanto while Aria clutched her Glock and Marko kept an eye on the house. Glaring at me, Aria pulled up the left sleeve of her hoodie, exposing pale skin and a snake tattoo. The snake curled around her forearm, with the head toward her hand and the tail vanishing up her sleeve. I cut deep into her forearm with the tanto, doing my best to ignore it when she hissed in pain. Blood began to spatter on the ground and a Health bar appeared above her head.

  I had to gently rock my blade in the wound to keep the blood flowing, and I watched her Health bar carefully. When it hit 70%, I pulled out the blade and activated Hemokinesis. Aria’s blood levitated into the air and formed into a twisting stream that flowed directly toward my hand. The blood disappeared when it touched my skin, the stream instantly Absorbed. The message I’d expected appeared.

  You may temporarily Absorb an ability!

  You may Absorb: Bacchanal, Body Divine, Demigoddess,

  Fruit of the Vine, or High Tolerance. Select one to proceed.

  I selected Bacchanal and received a second message.

  Ability: Bacchanal

  Each time an attack deals damage equal to 10% or more of her total Health,

  a maenad spawns from the spilled blood and attacks the Divine’s enemies.

  Multiple maenads can spawn simultaneously. Maenads appear as toga clad, blood-drenched

  women with a similar appearance to the Divine. Each maenad has Strength and Agility equal to the

  Divine, but all other stats are reduced to 1. Maenads explode into showers of blood red wine

  after 1 minute or when they are defeated.

  “It worked!” I said.

  “It better have worked,” Aria said, watching her arm as the skin closed. “Fucking vampire.” Her Health bar started shooting up to full.

  “I think you heal faster than I do,” Marko said.

  “Yeah, I’m better at everything.”

  She smirked and Marko rolled his eyes.

  “I’m switching to chat,” he said. “Much easier than trying to talk when I change.”

  I nodded.

  “Let’s go.”

  Marko shifted into his muscular wererat form and crept forward, Aria and I just behind him. We waited until two fane guards walked past the driveway, and we ambushed them. Marko snarled and bounded forward, grabbing one of the guards by the throat and slamming him into the ground. I was a second behind him, slashing across with my tanto, and this time I expected it when the blade nearly cut the guard in half. I slapped one hand over the fane’s mouth as he started to scream, muffling the noise.

  Beside me, Marko was squeezing the other guard’s throat. The fane’s trachea collapsed with a soft, wet crunch. The guard’s face turned purple and he drummed his feet against the concrete before Marko snapped his neck. Fight over, we stopped to look and listen, with Aria covering us from the low stone wall. The grounds were quiet. It didn’t seem like anyone had noticed.

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 2/10

  “That was easy,” Aria said, as we looted the bodies then tossed them in the bushes.

  Marko pointed a claw at her and shook his head.

  Marko (Party): Don’t jinx it.

  Aria grinned and swapped out the Glock for the machine pistol she’d just looted. It was solid black and had a curved magazine.

  “Hell yeah,” she said, and gave the gun a kiss.

  I examined it.

  ?korpion vz. 61 +1

  Do you want to fire twenty rounds in two seconds?

  This is the gun for you! Improved accuracy and damage.

  “My tanto has a better enchantment than that thing,” I said.

  Aria stuck her tongue out at me. Marko shook his head and made a rolling motion with one furry hand. I nodded and we moved deeper into the grounds. We managed to sneak up on two more guards, but that’s where our luck ended.

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 4/10

  I heard a shout and a high-pitched tuk-tuk-tuk as bullets tore up the lawn around us. We scattered. Marko headed right, Aria headed left, while I ran straight at the shooter. Two rounds slammed into my chest as I sprinted forward, and I rolled to the side to avoid more damage. My Health bar dropped to 70% and I grinned a bloody grin as three maenads formed out of my blood and ran off, shrieking.

  I knew we’d never get through the evening without getting shot, so I decided to make getting shot part of the plan. Every bullet that hit Aria or I would produce at least one maenad to sow confusion in the enemy. With Tureaud’s Golden Chain and Sanguis Vita active I was effectively Vitality 10. If five was the standard human maximum, that meant I was the toughest bastard ever. Aria wasn’t quite as tough at Vitality 5, but that still topped world class athletes, and she healed really fast. We could afford to take a few hits, and it was the quickest way I could think of to swell our numbers. I winced at the pain in my chest. It still hurt, though.

  I pumped three blood points into Regenerate and my Health returned to 100% with my Matrix at 16/20. I heard another burst of fire and saw two more maenads rush from Aria’s direction. I jumped up and checked behind us to make sure we didn’t get caught in a crossfire. Sure enough, two more fane appeared from around the side of the house, dashing forward, guns in hand.

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 5/10

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 6/10

  It was working. I took a quick peek at Marko and Aria’s Health bars as I charged the fane and both were above 80%. I began zigzagging when the guards fired and, between Bullet Time and Sanguis Vita, I was quick enough to avoid most of their shots. Most, but not all. A shot to my gut birthed two more maenads, who tied up the guards long enough for me to heal and get into melee range.

  My tanto chopped off the first fane’s gun hand, and he screamed and bled while I launched a side kick at his buddy. I felt the second guard’s ribs snap as my foot connected and launched him into the air. He landed heavily ten feet away and grasped his chest, coughing up blood. I turned back to the disarmed fane and found he was clutching his spurting stump. I rammed my tanto through his neck and activated Hemokinesis. Blood spiraled through the air and streamed into my hand, raising my Matrix to 18/20.

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 7/10

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 8/10

  I checked on the fane I’d kicked and saw his Health was at 0%. Huh. A hemorrhage maybe? I shrugged and jogged back in the direction of my party members, following their dots on the mini-map. A small part of me was appalled at how quickly I’d adapted to straight up murdering people, but the greater portion recognized the necessity. I hadn’t asked to come here. I hadn’t asked to be set against these fane. If someone had to die, though, I’d try my damnedest to make sure it wasn’t me.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Defeat 10 Hunt Thugs 10/10

  A new message appeared.

  Achievement Unlocked: Killing Spree!

  You have killed, or assisted in killing, 10 or more people at one location on the same day.

  That makes you a spree killer!

  I waved the message away and tried to ignore the knot in my stomach. I wasn’t going to let this place make me feel bad about surviving. Still jogging, I rounded a corner of the house and into the backyard. I didn’t see a garden with tomato plants, but it did have a cut stone patio, complete with a quartet of fane bodies. I got near the closest one that still bleeding and activated Hemokinesis, topping off my Matrix.

  “That is so fucked up,” Aria said, watching me.

  Marko had returned to human form and was looting the bodies, which I’d forgotten to do. Notifications rolled in and I was surprised when I saw I had over 5000 credits. Job done, Marko stood up and dusted off his hands.

  “Now what,” he said.

  “Now you face me!” a voice boomed from above us.

  We looked up and saw a figure standing on the roof, holding something over one shoulder. It jumped down into the backyard, landing in a superhero crouch. The figure, a fane, stood up and regarded us. He was dressed in a burgundy gi with no shoes and was the biggest fane I’d seen. Hell, he was among the biggest humans I’d ever seen. I guessed he was 6’5” and he had the kind of muscles that come from working with them rather than working on them. His long blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail, revealing his pointed ears, and vivid blue eyes stared out at us. He was so handsome, even I noticed.

  The fane carried a huge sword slung over one shoulder. The thing was so enormous as to be ridiculous. It mainly consisted of a giant blade five feet long and two feet wide. The blade had an uneven series of angled holes drilled into it, making it look kinda like a cheese grater. The sword emitted a soft whistling sound that made me shudder when he pulled it off his shoulder. He planted it in front of him and I could just make out technomantic inscriptions etched between the holes.

  The yard went silent. We stared at the fane, and he stared back at us. Suddenly, he cracked a smile.

  “I’d wager my left nut this is Tolun’s fault,” he said. “What a dipshit.” He cocked a thumb back at himself. “I’m Gost, his older brother. If you leave now, and send the little fucker home in one piece, we can forget anything happened.”

  “That’s a big elf,” Aria said, eyes sweeping Gost from head to toe.

  “Hey,” Gost said. “That’s really offensive. Do I look like I frolic in the woods? Am I hard at work in Santa’s workshop?” He shook his head. “No need to be hurtful.”

  “Sorry, big guy,” Marko said. “She’s a bit of an asshole.”

  He started to shift and, on the party display, I saw his Matrix was down to under half.

  “But she’s our asshole,” he said, before his mouth turned into fangs.

  Several things happened at once. To start with, I cringed inwardly at Marko’s phrasing. The wererat, meanwhile, bounded forward, claws extended. Cringe over, I reactivated Sanguis Vita and moved to flank the fane, while Aria made a motion, causing vines to snake up Gost’s legs to root him in place. Completely unsurprised, Gost raised his sword and swung it to meet Marko’s attack, the big man moving way faster than I’d expected. The sword made a keening wail as it swung forward, air rushing through the holes in the blade, and I immediately felt like I was trapped in molasses. A debuff appeared at the top of my vision, right below the orientation timer.

  Banshee Scream

  Your Agility is halved, rounded down. Your Mental Resistance has reduced the duration

  of this effect to 14 seconds. Banshee Scream can be refreshed but does not stack.

  That cut my Agility to 4 and the sudden change threw me off balance and sent me stumbling. Marko was also affected, and his bound turned into a flail. The wererat’s beady, black eyes grew wide as he landed in front of Gost just in time for the big fane’s blade to slam into his chest. The sword crushed more than it cut, and sent Marko flying back, skipping across the patio like a stone over water. He bounced off the low stone wall at the back of the yard, chest deformed and his Health at 50%. Holy shit. Gost had done that with just one blow, while rooted in place.

  I reminded myself I wasn’t moving any slower than I had my entire life and continued toward the fane’s flank. I slashed out with my tanto, angling it up, aiming for a major blood vessel in the armpit. I’d never have attempted this attack back home. The artery I was going for was buried and, normally, I wouldn’t have much of a chance of cutting deep enough to hit it. I was hoping Strength 9 would do the trick. It did not. I hit where I meant to and it felt like I’d chopped into a log. Gost’s Health bar appeared and barely moved. Gost Nova (96%).

  The fane swung a backhand at my face, his meaty fist the size of a roast ham, and I heard wind whistle past my ears as I dodged by a finger’s breadth. I continued by him, fully intent on starting to slice up his back, when I heard full-auto fire from behind me. Peering around the big fane, I saw Aria eject the clip from her ?korpion. Gost grunted and his Health dropped to 71%.

  “That’s not very sporting,” he said, and vanished to reappear within arm’s reach of Aria, leaving the tangle of vines behind.

  Aria blanched and started to backpedal, fumbling her attempt to load a new clip. Gost swung, refreshing Banshee Scream, and the sword slammed into Aria’s right arm. I heard a snap and watched in horror as her arm bent around the blade. Broken bone tore through skin in a spurt of blood, her gun tumbling from her hand. Aria screamed and fell to her knees, staring at the ruin of her arm, Health at 27%.

  Gost raised the sword again but was hammered by more automatic fire. Back in human form, Marko had fired on the fane and was now busily reloading his own ?korpion. Gost Nova (47%). The fane bellowed and charged at Marko, sword held over one shoulder, ready to smash the man into the ground. My mind worked furiously. Cutting him had done almost nothing, but he didn’t seem to like being shot. I mean, who does? I checked the dead fane for another ?korpion but didn’t see any. Aria’d probably looted them. I let my tanto vanish and pulled out the Glock, racking it.

  Marko calmly finished reloading and looked up at the big fane. Gost swung his sword straight down, the weapon absolutely howling with the power of the blow.

  “Miss,” Marko said, his voice deeper than usual and carrying a reverb that echoed through the air.

  Marko had told us he had a limited ability to issue one-word commands. This one worked. The sword crashed down to Marko’s right, missing him by inches and burying itself in the stone wall. Gost tugged at his weapon, which barely moved. It was stuck. Marko raised his gun to the fane’s head and pulled the trigger. You might expect that 20 rounds to the noggin would result in something that looked like smashed cherry pie, but, amazingly, it only dropped Gost to 7%. I saw a look of complete shock appear on Marko’s face before a punch sent him flying again. His Health was down to 40%.

  Gost grabbed the hilt of his sword in both hands and pulled, roaring with the effort. The blade popped free and he stumbled back a few feet before righting himself. He’d just started to turn when I shot him. Bam. Bam-bam-bam. I fired four times, but I think I only hit him once. Pistols aren’t great at distance. Or maybe I just suck. Gost Nova (2%). He glowered at me and did his teleportation trick, reappearing in front of me. He raised his sword and a hail of bullets peppered him, the ground, and, most unfortunately, my right leg. My Health dropped to 90% and a maenad appeared. She immediately tore into Gost who finally, finally, collapsed, his sword falling with a loud clang.

  Defeat [Gost Nova] 1/1

  I looked across the yard and saw Aria, right arm still partly mangled, swaying back and forth in place, the ?korpion held in her left hand. When she saw Gost was down, she let out a sigh and promptly dropped on her ass. Ignoring the maenad as she continued to worry at Gost, I rushed over to her and squatted down.

  “You good?” I said.

  “What do you think?”

  Her arm was nearly healed by now and she’d be fine in a minute. Her Health was already back to 54%. She glared at the big fane, rubbing her arm. The nameplate floating over him read Gost Nova (KO).

  “Why isn’t he dead?” she said.

  “That’s a great question,” Marko said, walking over to join us.

  His Health had moved to 80%, but his Matrix looked low. Marko extended a hand to Aria and helped hoist her back on her feet. Cautiously, we moved to stand over Gost, his gi now stained a darker red, thanks to the maenad. Aria poked him with a booted toe and a message appeared.

  Finish Him!

  Y/N

  I hesitated then clicked no. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, and I wouldn’t mind not having to kill someone.

  Finish Him!

  [Marko Kontos] has voted no.

  [Aria Brate] has voted yes.

  [Victor Vasquez] has voted no.

  Your party has voted to spare [Gost Nova]!

  “For fuck’s sake,” Aria said, looking at the two no votes. “I’m the only one here with a vagina but you two are acting like pussies.”

  “That’s awfully sexist,” Marko said.

  “He wrecked my arm!”

  “This is the first time we’ve been given an option to not murder someone,” Marko said. “I think we should see what happens. For science.”

  “I agree with Marko,” I said. “I’m curious what’ll happen.”

  “I’ll shoot him again is what will happen!” Aria said. She bent down and touched the fane. “Goddammit! I can’t even loot him! This is some bullshit.”

  Furious, she kicked Gost in the side. He didn’t so much as rock in place.

  “We still need to find Kaius,” I said, checking on the quest.

  “I expect he’s inside,” Marko said. “Waiting to monologue us. Let’s get to it.”

  Aria kicked Gost again, to no effect, and we headed toward the French back doors. Marko got there first and tried a handle. It turned. We stepped inside and a new message appeared.

  You have entered Nova Sector Control Point.

  Find and defeat its guardian [Kaius Nova] to claim this Control Point.