Nightmare Realm Summoner

“What?” Finley asked, his eyes going wide as saucers. He took a step back. “Are you mad? The crazy bastard that tried to kill us all when we first went to Blackreach? Why in any world would you ever want to get his attention?”

“Because he’s worked with us once before,” Alex said with a shrug. “I don’t like him either. But he’s got a way to teleport. And I’d be willing to bet that he’d be interesting in getting himself an invite into Empty Court.”

“You want to hand one of our greatest enemies an invite to the Empty Court?” Finley asked in disbelief. He looked to Claire. “Tell him he’s lost it. Just because Absolution worked with you once during the auction does not mean he can be trusted. That man—”

“No,” Claire said. She shook her head. “I think Alex might have a point. Absolution works by doing whatever he needs to for power. That’s his whole thing. So if we made the deal suitably interesting for him, then I don’t see why he wouldn’t work with us.”

Finley stared at Claire like she’d grown a second pair of arms. Then he groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I forgot. You’ve lost your mind just as badly as he has. Are you trying to both get yourselves killed?”

“It’s not like we’re going to bring you with us,” Alex said with a wave of his hand. “This is our problem to deal with. I don’t see what you’re worried about. It isn’t your ass.”

“You don’t see what I’m worried about?” Finley threw his hands up in the air. “I’m worried about everyone’s future! Which we won’t have much of if the leaders of our town get torn to shreds by a giant scythe-slinging psychopath with a hole in his chest that should have killed him a thousand times over!”

“We’ve fought him before,” Alex said. “And I think he’s going to be more than willing to discuss terms when he realizes what’s on the table. I appreciate your concern, Finley. But I’m not asking your advice. I’m asking if you can send him a message.”

Finley’s gaze bore into him for a second. Then the merchant let out a defeated sigh.

“Yes,” Finley said. “I can do it. You just spoke with him today. Reaching him will, unfortunately, not be nearly as difficult as I would like. It will not be cheap, but we can get him a short message.”

“Great,” Alex said. He grinned. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me for this,” Finley said wearily, shaking his head. “Just come back alive.”

***

Just a few short minutes later, Alex and Claire had commenced with their plan. They only paused to briefly speak with Rhyss and check if there were any updates on the status of the town since the auction had started — which there had not been — and then the two of them headed straight to the Teleporter.

It wasn’t long after that they found themselves 200 Credits poorer and standing in the rubble of what had once been Towntown. The town was exactly as they had left it. Rubble had been strewn across the ground, huge chunks of masonry scattered across the land like discarded legos.

The air hung still around them. There wasn’t so much as a whisper of sound beyond the rock crunching beneath their feet. Alex felt slightly odd standing in the remnants of the first city he’d seen since arriving on Earth. This place felt… sad.

All the potential that had been lost. All the people that had been here, determined to survive, wiped away into nothing but a memory.

Maybe some of them survived. Maybe they crawled out of the ashes and made it to Valley Ford.

And maybe they also managed to get the hell out of there before a Void Goliath smashed it into smithereens.

Alex winced. That was a lot of ifs.

There was nothing that could be done about it now. Regret wouldn’t change anything. And he was only partially responsible for one of those two disasters.

Right now, he had to remain focused. He and Claire climbed through the rubble until they’d come to a stop near a large area mostly devoid of excessive rubble and without anything that could block their line of sight of each other. If Absolution did decide that he wanted blood… well, his magic only worked on one person at a time.

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They weren’t about to let him pick and choose his fights.

Neither Alex nor Claire said a word. They stood in silence, their magic at the ready. Alex’s fingers twitched at his sides as he shifted from foot to foot, all too aware of the heightening speed of his heart.

And there they waited.

A minute ticked past.

Another one followed.

It did strike Alex that there was a chance Absolution’s ability to teleport around willy-nilly had some limits to it. He might not have been able to come after them even if he’d wanted to — or he could have been caught up in a fight somewhere and unable to receive the message that Finley had sent over.

But that wasn’t something that could be controlled. All they could do was wait and hope.

Another minute dragged by.

Alex nudged a loose, palm-sized rock by his foot with the tip of his toe. He glanced up toward the sky, then around himself. Then he nudged the rock again. It skittered across the ground somewhat anticlimactically. He gave it a stronger kick.

The rock bounced over to a stop before Claire.

She looked down at it.

Alex looked down at it.

They glanced back at each other.

Claire’s eyebrow rose. Alex’s did the same.

She kicked the rock back.

Alex caught it with his foot before it could bounce past him. He kicked it back over to Claire, slightly faster this time. The stone bounced twice against the ground, nearly sailing straight past her. Her hand flicked down. The rock smacked into the ground with a loud crack, all the momentum stolen from it in an instant.

She smirked, looking back to Alex only to find him glaring at her.

He directed his gaze down to his hand, then shook his head in mock disappointment.

Claire’s brow furrowed. Then realization passed through her features. She kicked the rock back over to him. Alex raised his foot, thrusting it out a moment before the rock could fly free. It hit his foot with a thunk that definitely would have broken a few bones prior to the advent of the System.

But now, the stone just dropped to the ground harmlessly. Alex barely even felt the impact. He grinned at Claire, rearing back and kicking the stone with a considerable amount of force, sending it hurtling through the air toward Claire in a blur.

Abruptly, A shimmer of purple-black energy warped the air between them. A black scythe sliced out from within it, carving straight through reality as if it were nothing but tissue paper and leaving a murky rend in existence in its wake. From the darkness stepped Absolution —

The rock struck him right in the side of his head with a loud, meaty thud that echoed through the silent ruins.

A clatter rang out as the rock fell, landing beside Absolution’s feet.

Alex grimaced.

Really? That’s where he chose to show up?

Absolution’s cold gaze turned toward Alex.

“Sorry,” Alex said. “I can honestly say that wasn’t intentional. If I was going to hit you with a surprise attack, it would be something that hurt a hell of a lot more than that.”

“I am quite aware,” Absolution said. He did not sound amused in the slightest. Then again, he never seemed to. The man had a perpetual stick up his ass. “Not even you are stupid enough for such a pointless attack.”

“Right,” Alex said with a nod. “Exactly. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad to see you.”

“You are an idiot. Why did you call me here?” Absolution said flatly. “Do you believe we are allies? Did you not understand a single word of what we spoke during the auction?”

“Are you going to keep acting like a scorned, childish ex?” Alex asked. “Because we can skip all the posturing. I’d say we know each other well enough for that at this point. You’re here because you want access to the Empty Court. We can help you with that. This is a business opportunity. A big one. And I already know you’re shrewd enough not to pass that up.”

“Or you can fight us,” Claire offered. “But I think you remember how that went last time. And we’ve gotten stronger since then. Your eye only works on one person. I don’t think you’ll have nearly as much luck as you once did.”

Absolution’s gaze bore into Alex for several seconds. Then it flicked to Claire. For a moment, it almost looked like he was about to disregard everything and try to attack them anyways. The man’s knuckles whitened around the haft of his scythe.

Then, slowly, he let the weapon lower.

“You truly believe you can get me an invite into the Empty Court?” Absolution asked.

Alex shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe? Seems better than any other chance you’ve got. I’ve heard membership is pretty tough to acquire.”

“Your message said that you could get me an invite,” Absolution said flatly. “And that implies that you are a member. You, a Nativeworlder on a newly initiated planet.”

“I’m a new member,” Alex said.

Technically speaking. I’ve got a recommendation. Not sure if they’ve got like an official member’s card or something. If they do, I hope it’s got some good lounge access.

“And you believe you would have the sway to do recruit someone as a recruit yourself?” Absolution asked. “Are you delusional? Or just unbelievably arrogant?”

Alex just shrugged.

“I think we both know that you don’t have a better way to get in than this. After all, you wouldn’t have come to meet us if you didn’t.”

There was a long second of silence.

Then corner of Absolution’s lip pulled up in the faintest of smiles.

“Very well, Alex. You have my interest. Again. So what exactly is it that you want from me?”