“Well, yes. I mean, no. Not exactly.” Chloe blushed, a look of mild annoyance on her face. “Look, I like Gid and think he’s a great guy. He deserves to be happy, and his dream for a better life is to become a pro gamer. If I can give that to him, I will. No matter what it takes.”

  “Are you sure that it’s not because of the night you spent together in the noble’s manor? It was hard for viewers to see anything in the dark of that room. How do we know you weren’t getting up to the dirty things with Gideon?”

  Chloe’s mouth fell open. She held up her fingers. “Number one, eww. And number two, it makes me sick enough thinking about yours and Mia’s sex life that it puts me off the idea of my own. I’m in a damn game, Doc. I haven’t got a weird digital fetish like Tag or Ben. Weird as hell, by the way. I prefer real people.”

  “Okay, okay,” Demetri said, reaching into an open bag beside him and grabbing a slightly stale cookie. “Although, remember that Ben and Tag are screwing around with NPCs—”

  “Hey! You’re learning the lingo—”

  “Whereas Gideon is a real player.”

  “But that’s not his real body. For all I know, he’s some 87-year-old obese woman from Kentucky.”

  “So, you’ve thought about it?”

  “What’s the bad news?” Chloe said, determined to change the subject.

  Demetri thought about poking the hornet’s nest but decided against it. “The bad news is that Fractured Reality has come back with a rejection of your request to offer advertising to Gideon. Apparently, the guy’s rank is too low and the attention isn’t on him enough for their stellar crew of influencers, and they’ve already chosen several people to sponsor within Obsidian.”

  “Damn,” Chloe muttered. “Who are the others?”

  Demetri pulled up another web tab, four images of young men and women highlighting the front page of the website. “No one we know. Just a few internet celebs with several million views on their YouTube channels. Ha, interesting…”

  “What?”

  “It says here that one of these girls…” he squinted at the screen, “‘Valoric_Warrior_219,’ already has over 87,000 followers on her Obsidian account. That’s impressive.”

  “Damn,” Chloe repeated, the number making her 500 look like nothing more than a puddle next to the ocean. “So, what can we do? What are our other options?”

  Demetri smiled. “I’m glad you asked me that.” He rifled through a stack of papers that was resting precariously on the coffee table, looking for the envelopes he had received over the past few days. “I took the liberty of contacting the other companies I sent over to you in that list—y’know, just for contingency’s sake and all that. You’ve got a couple of offer letters.”

  Demetri watched with a warm feeling in his heart as Chloe’s smile grew on the screen. He summarized the offers for her, with several of them so small and feeble that Chloe’s enthusiasm momentarily waned. She imagined trying to live a life, pay rent and bills, on some of the meager amounts presented. It just wasn’t possible. These offers were for teens planning to live with their moms for the next thirty years.

  “Go back to that other one,” Chloe said, becoming wary as the time on her screen as it began to count down her final twenty minutes in the white room.

  Demetri shuffled through the papers. “‘Geriatric Buffalo’ or ‘Digital Supernova’?”

  “‘Digital Supernova.’”

  Demetri re-read the letter, the offer the best one that they had been given. A setup that would allow Gideon to become an official sponsored player while being able to save an additional 3% monthly toward the purchase of his own house. The company also offered benefits in the form of an annual bonus for the players who had shown the most growth, as well as an all-expenses-paid conference and the chance to renew the contract after the player had come up from their 2-year service.

  “With that 3% extra per month, Gideon will be out of his mother’s house in just…” Demetri bit his tongue as he performed the mental math, “just under 3 years.”

  “Fund his new house,” Chloe said sharply.

  “What?” Demetri laughed? “What’s the point in this contract if you’re just going to fund him anyway?”

  “He needs to feel like he’s earned it,” Chloe replied, smiling fondly as she imagined how Gideon’s face would light up at the news. “By having the company contact Gideon and offer him the full sponsorship, he’ll feel he’s earned it. Just contact Digital Supernova and tell them we want to add a subsidy to Gideon on top of what they’ll offer. Consider it a secret bonus. He gets his house, the company will get a new winner, and as my views grow, so will his.”

  “That’s awfully generous of you, Chloe,” Demetri smiled admiringly, unable to work out how this apple had fallen so far from the cold, emotionless Lagarde family tree. “I’ll get to making the arrangements the moment you head back into the game.”

  “He cannot know I was involved,” Chloe said. “Write it into the contract. No one other than you guys and Digital Supernova must know. Same with the immersion pods.”

  Demetri agreed, feeling a little saddened as the clock began to wind down to its final minutes.

  “Well, this was a nice blast into the business and romantic world.” Chloe grinned, sitting at the edge of her chair and preparing for re-entry into the game. “Just remember one thing before I head back in there.”

  “What’s that, Chloe?”

  “If you love her, just tell her. No sense beating around the bush. Women like men who are direct. Buy her roses. Give her chocolates, all that gooey stuff. But the most important thing you can ever do is look that girl in the eye and tell her how you feel. You got this.”

  Demetri was momentarily lost for words.

  “Doc?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Speak to you on the other side.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chloe opened her eyes and struggled to process where she was. The walls were sandstone, the air cool beneath the heavy sands of the Narlath Desert. It took her a second to remember the Heartwood wasn’t a respawn point but rather a travel point.

  How do I work this? Chloe mumbled, eager to travel back as fast as she could. She could hear some sherikans approaching from another room, the sound of her entry drawing their attention, and as much as she loved a reunion, she didn’t want to have to hang around and make nice when she had business to attend to.

  Pulling up her menu, Chloe found the Fast Travel option. A map opened up in front of her, showing two spots she had already claimed. She breathed a sigh of relief, happy to see her plan had worked.

  Using only her mind, she selected the Heartwood and confirmed with Y, and the next thing she knew, the world had vanished.

  She flew through a series of blurry tunnels, moving at warp speed, grunting as her feet found solid ground in the darkness of the Heartwood beside the large pot, which was no longer bubbling or even hot.

  Nice, she thought. I’ll have to remember that one. If only there had been a fast travel option at every place I’ve been to.

  She dusted herself off, looking around her for the minotaurs. Her breath caught as she saw them all, still fast asleep on the floor around her.

  Chloe froze in place. How long would it be before the minotaurs woke up from their snooze?

  She took a step over one of their huge legs, noticing that her own were now bare, aside from the greaves that clung to her ankles.

  Welcome back, KieraFreya said.

  Chloe remembered Mia’s ridiculous rule about losing half of your stuff every time you died in the game. She checked her inventory and saw that she had lost several of the potions she had acquired for helping out Gallen Hollows, as well as her sword, trousers, and waterskin.

  Damn.

  What are you complaining about? KieraFreya asked.

  Well, what am I going to do without my sword? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m surrounded by minotaurs.

  What were you going to do? Stab them all in their sleep?

  If that’s what it took

  KieraFreya grunted, raised Chloe’s arm, and pointing to the pot, where a bundle of items was glowing and hovering over the liquid.

  Oh, right. They remain in the place where you died. Chloe suddenly remembered. Handy. I’m not often able to fast travel to the place where I died.

  Don’t get used to it.

  Chloe scanned the area, her Dark Vision providing ample light in the glow from the mushrooms and fireflies. Now that they weren’t powered by the old woman’s magic, it seemed they served no other purpose.

  Chloe took her items, returning her missing clothes to her body and stocking her inventory with the missing potions.

  She found Gideon, Tag, and Ben also asleep on the forest floor. Treading carefully over the bodies of the beasts, she made her way to them, shaking Gideon’s shoulders gently, her hand covering his mouth.

  Gideon began to rouse, his eyelids fluttering. As his eyes adjusted and he felt the hand on his mouth, he began to panic, mumbling and muttering beneath Chloe’s hand.

  Chloe placed a finger on her lips. “Shut up,” she whispered urgently, pointing to a place just a foot away from Gid’s head where a minotaur snored lightly, its heavy breath rippling his hair with every exhale.

  Gideon’s eyes grew wide with alarm.

  “Can I remove this?” Chloe said.

  Gideon nodded. She cautiously eased her hand away, taking Gideon’s hand in her own and helping him up.

  They worked slowly between them to wake Tag and Ben. Chloe told Gid to work on Ben, not quite knowing how Tag was going to take being woken quietly.

  Ben eased awake pretty easily, Gideon having taken the same approach Chloe had. As Chloe moved to wake Tag, Ben shook his head emphatically, mouthing that Chloe shouldn’t even bother.

  “Why not?” Chloe mouthed back.

  Ben raised a finger, then went glassy-eyed for a second. When he focused again, he mimed the texting gesture.

  Chloe opened her messages, head retreating at the barrage of capital letters which met her.

  FROM: Benjamin Summers

  ARE YOU CRAZY? THAT DUDE IS A LIABILITY AT THE BEST OF TIMES! YOU KNOW THESE GUYS COULD WAKE AT THE SOUND OF A PENNY DROPPING, AND YOU WANT TO WAKE THE LOUD-MOUTHED DWARF?!

  Chloe formed her reply, encouraging Ben to join her in the chat.

  FROM: Chloe

  WELL, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST WE DO?

  FROM: Gideon Fleetwood

  Why are YOU all in caps?

  FROM: Chloe

  I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN. IT IS!

  FROM: Benjamin Summers

  LET’S CARRY HIM. DUDE’S A RIDICULOUSLY HEAVY SLEEPER ANYWAY. HE WON’T FEEL A THING.

  Chloe blinked away her messages and looked down at the stocky dwarf. She couldn’t imagine anything being so heavy. Surely it would take four of them to lift him?

  She reached down, scooping hands beneath the arch of his back. He grunted but didn’t wake. She tested the load, surprised by how light he actually was.

  She pushed her hands farther underneath, raising him to her chest and cradling him like a sleeping baby. Ben, who had been halfway to joining her, raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  Chloe shrugged.

  Of course! She had been looking at Tag through the lens of Chloe Lagarde, forgetting her countless bonuses and the strength gains she had collected from developing her skills and gathering the armor. She felt like she could throw Tag like a beach ball.

  Not that she would.

  No.

  As tempting as it would be.

  Easing their way over the rest of the minotaurs, they made progress toward the edge of the clearing. Tag nestled into Chloe’s neck, making strange murmurs as she carried him.

  Ben passed over gracefully, his long legs able to take large strides toward their destination. As he reached the edge of the perimeter of minotaurs, he pointed animatedly at the floor, where Chloe could now see Talbot and Jessie spooning on the floor, a mushroom held in Jessie’s arms.

  Tag won’t like that, KieraFreya said darkly.

  Chloe felt KieraFreya pouring energy into her arms as if she were about to make Chloe drop the dwarf. Don’t even think about it.

  Fine. She chuckled.

  Gideon was far less graceful, the long tail of his cloak catching on his feet and sweeping across the minotaurs’ stomachs. Chloe reached the edge a few steps ahead of him, lowering Tag to the floor as she reached down to help Ben wake the others.

  As Talbot and Jessie were coming back around, they heard a small yelp. Chloe turned back and saw Gideon standing with his hands clapped over his mouth. Behind him, a minotaur began to shake the hand Gideon had just stepped on.

  “Run!” Chloe shouted, but before Gideon had a chance to move, the minotaur mooed loudly, waking the others from their slumber. They sleepily stood up, blocking Gideon temporarily from view as their confused expressions channeled themselves toward Chloe and the others.

  “Gid?” Chloe shouted.

  Chloe’s heart leaped into her chest. The minotaurs’ expressions went from confused to angry to confused again. Chloe planted her feet, hand on her sword, ready to do whatever it would take to get Gideon back to them.

  A sudden sound filled the clearing, making all the minotaurs pause, their backs straightening as they stood to attention. Chloe watched them carefully, unable to understand what was happening.

  A few of the minotaurs toward the back shuffled, making way for something coming through the gaggle. The minotaurs at the front finally parted, making way for Gideon, who was led by the hand by the old woman, who had a curious expression on her face.

  She studied Chloe for a moment.

  “You are of the blessed?”

  Chloe nodded, at a loss for words. The last thing she remembered, this woman had tried to kill her. To sacrifice her to the god of the woods. Now, all of that was gone. Instead, the woman looked very frail, a dying relic of an ancient time.

  The old woman looked Chloe up and down, eyeing her armor. “You have a god inside you. Only a true warrior of the gods could have converted the shrine of the ancient Heartwood. Say it isn’t so.”

  Chloe held the woman’s gaze. “It is so.”

  The old woman snorted and turned to the herd of minotaurs. She spread her hands wide and grunted instructions in the tongue of her people. The next thing they knew, the minotaurs had dispersed into the shadow of the thick forest.

  “Follow me,” the old woman said, not bothering to look back at them all. She hobbled toward the large hollow in the tree trunk, disappearing into it with surprising speed for one so old.

  “What was that all about?” Jessie said, reaching Chloe’s side.

  “I don’t know,” Chloe replied.

  “Do we trust her?” Gideon asked.

  Ben joined. “Shouldn’t we just run?”

  “No,” Chloe replied, her words soft. “If we run, it’ll only be a matter of time before they catch us again, I’m sure.” Spellbound, Chloe walked toward the hollow, every ounce of intrigue inside her propelling her toward the old woman.

  The others followed closely, Jessie dragging a snoozing Tag by the arms as he slept.

  Chapter Thirty

  “There are many gods who govern this world. Some live up in the clouds and watch us, their power greater than the physical touch of man.”

  The old woman croaked her tale as she prepared a sweet-smelling drink and offered them each a cup. They were crammed into the hollow, Chloe closest to the old woman. The others had taken places on the floor or on tiny stools, barely able to hold one cheek.

  “There are others who interfere with our world,” she continued, “taking the shape of shadows and causing havoc and mischief. Where your alliance lies says a lot about who you are and what you stand for.

  “You.” She pointed to Chloe, that steely gaze fixed once more on her. “You are bold to steal a person’s alliance with a god and forge a connection with your own. For thousands of years, this forest has stood as the ultimate shrine to Desandre, the Goddess of Plant Life. It is through her favor and will that this great forest has been allowed to thrive, its borders protected, its magic contained within the unique specimens that call this place home.”

  The woman broke eye contact, turning her attention to her drink in her hand.

  “I’m sorry,” Chloe said. “I’ll be honest, I’m fairly new to all of this. I didn’t mean to...steal a shrine or...break your connection with Desandre or anything like that. We are on a holy quest, and it is for my goddess that we journey together now.”

  The woman waved her hand, actually laughing for the first time since they had met her. The wrinkles on her face creased, creating long dark trenches in the skin. “You have a lot to learn about the gods, young one.”

  “Chloe,” Chloe added.

  “Hmm?”

  “My name is Chloe,” she repeated, introducing each of her companions in turn. When she was finished, the woman smiled, silent for a moment. “Please, tell us yours,” Chloe asked.

  The woman exhaled, the fire crackling steadily beside her. “I have no name to speak of, really. We are born into this world without a name, and it is from our kin that we derive who we are. If that label is what you require, there are many who know me simply as the Heartmother.”

  “Heartmother,” Ben said, totally entranced now by the old woman. “We meant no harm to your woods, we promise it.”

  “I believe you,” Heartmother said softly. “Understand that we have our ways, and these ways are protection for who we are and how we live. There aren’t many who have come into our little corner of Obsidian and lived to tell the tale. Our sacrifices were asked for and delivered to Desandre, but now that you are back, Chloe, there is no need for further sacrifice.”

  She laid her head back, telling them a lot more about Desandre and spinning tales of the old days when the land was nothing but a barren waste of darkness and ash, a place where nothing lived and nothing thrived.