The Game Of The Gods Chapter 39

Welp, at least I got plenty of rewards for fighting a demon. Almost dying is worth it sometimes, am I right?

I groan as my arm twinges. The healing from my gloves seems to be having some trouble with the fact that my arm was recently separated from my body.

“Are you okay?” Dee hovers near me, her hands moving aimlessly. Her eye go wide and she whispers, “There’s a lot of blood.”

“I should be fine.” I rotate my arm to test its movement. “These gloves are pretty good at putting me back together.” 

Even with the injury to my arm, I can feel my body moving with ease. My body feels more fit than usual, and I imagine that it has something to do with the recent increase in my physicality in my status.

I pull my phone out of my pocket, sighing as I see a large crack making its way through the middle of the screen. 

That hurts more than my arm.

I consider messaging the group chat about my quest, but… My most recent fight makes it clear that we aren’t ready for the monsters popping up in the world. I can’t have them follow me. I’m just not ready to feel responsible for them right now.

Who’s to say that the guys would last a couple minutes in Salt Lake? I can’t imagine that regular guns will do much against undead, and my new revolver can only go to one of them. Plus Blake and Damien should go back to school like normal, right? They shouldn’t be fighting creatures straight out of a horror film.

I put the phone away and shake my head.

This one’s on me. I’ll handle whatever this shitty game throws at me so they won’t have to. When I find a way to power them up, then maybe…

I’m sure they won’t like my decision, but I don’t really care what they think, mostly because they’ll be alive to think it. 

“Elly?” A voice calls from the door to my room.

I look up to see Elizabeth staring at me with wide eyes, a hint of fear in her expression.

“Is- Is that you Elena?” Elizabeth asks, her voice timid.

I realize with a start that I haven’t taken my mask off.

Should I tell her it’s me?

I take a good look at myself and realize how silly it would be not to. A random girl wearing a mask, covered in blood, and standing in your sister’s bedroom doesn’t seem like a good impression to leave on my sister.

With slow movements, I reach up and remove the masquerade mask and slip it into my inventory. “Of course it’s me Sunshine. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“You- you’re covered in blood, Elly.” Elizabeth looks at the sleeve of my arm, “And your clothes are ripped.”

“It’s nothing to worry about.” I say softly, “But if you could get me a wet towel to wipe some of it off, I’d appreciate it.”

Elizabeth nods, and turns around to run to the bathroom.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was coming to my room?” I ask Dee.

Dee looks away, whistling and floats over to the other side of my bed.

Elizabeth comes back a moment later with a wet towel, so I quickly take off my shirt to wipe my body down. 

Elizabeth watches me, her hand moving through her hair. “Elly?” She asks.

“Yeah?” I respond, watching her from the corner of my eye as I wipe arm.

“Does this mean you’re a superhero?” She asks, giving me a nervous smile.

I snort, laughter bubbling up in me. I work hard to keep it from showing, but I can’t help the smile that pops up on my face, “I’ve always been your superhero Sunshine. The powers and the mask just make it a little more official.”

“Am I a superhero too?” She asks, “I mean, I did shoot lightning.”

I look over to the other side of the bed where Dee is floating innocently, “I can’t say much Sunshine, but… Dee, can you show yourself to my sister?”

A moment later, Dee flies in front of Elizabeth’s face, making her jump.

“I’ve been having Dee here follow you to make sure you stay safe.” I pull a loose-fitting clean shirt from my closet and put it on.

“Nice to meet you?” Elizabeth says, staring at the small fairy with curiosity.

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Dee preens in front of Elizabeth’s gaze, happy to show off.

“Are you a fairy?” Elizabeth asks.

“An Electric Faerie, to be exact.” Dee responds, “The best kind of Faerie.” she adds.

“Amazing.” Elizabeth whispers, then turns to me with a pleading expression, “So I don’t have superpowers?”

How should I respond to that? I can’t say no to that face, “Not yet,” I say with a nod, “But that’s likely to change with how the world is changing.”

“Are you really okay, Elly?” Elizabeth reaches out, touching the arm that had been covered in blood.

“Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’m fine.” I grab her hand with my own, and give it a gentle squeeze. “That reminds me, I might be gone for a few days. If anything happens while I”m gone, I want you to hurry back to this house and lock the door. Don’t let anyone in, including me, unless Dee says it’s okay.”

Elizabeth takes her hand back, “Where are you going?”

“I have to save the world from an evil genius. Same as usual.” I wink at her, then give a tired smile as my energy leaves me.

Elizabeth opens her mouth to ask another question, but I stop her with a finger to her lips.

“I’m feeling really tired. If you have more questions, ask Dee. I’m sure she’ll be happy to answer all that she can.” I sit down on my bed, then fall onto my covers. “I think I’m going to catch a nap before my flight.”

I’m as good as my word, and I fall asleep fast.

***

My phone wakes me up at an ungodly hour in preparation for my flight, and it takes me a good hour to finish my morning routine. The benefits of an inventory mean that I don’t need to pack my bags, but I grab a small black clutch for appearance’s sake.

I stop by my sister’s room on my way out. Dee sleeps on her chest, softly snoring. 

Breakfast is a quick bowl of cereal, and then I”m out the door.

A cloaked figure steps out of the shadows next to my house, making me jump.

Kai’Lenal lowers his hood, “Are you leaving on a quest, Beta Tester?” 

“I am,” I say, rubbing the last of the sleep out of my eyes.

“I see. Good luck on your journey.”

“Thank you Kai’Lenal.” An Uber turns down the corner to my street, and I step forward to call them over.

I pause, then after a second turn around to look at the humanoid lizard. 

“I would be very grateful if you would protect my family, while I’m gone.” I look into Kai’Lenal’s eyes as I make the request. 

“Your family will be safe until your return… Elena.” Kai’Lenal bows his head to me.

“Thank you. I know I can count on you.” I give him a smile, then continue to my ride.

The ride is nice and quiet, leaving me to my own thoughts as it makes its way to the airport. 

The airport is empty with the morning, and I make my way through security without issues. The plane, thankfully, leaves on time and I’m on my way to St. George.

Once we’re in the air, I pull out a small statue of an angel with her eyes closed.

<Blue Window>

Ward Against Undead

Provides minor ward against undead, will warn owner if ward is breached.

Ward area: Fifty meters in every direction.

<Blue Window>

I look over the statue. Several hieroglyphs are carved into the bottom of it, and I pull out my new notebook to copy them down.

<Blue Window> 

Secret Diary (Uncommon)

The words in this diary are only readable by the owner or those they choose

<Blue Window>

The copying keeps me occupied for the majority of the flight.

The plane lands, and I quickly find out that there are no buses, cars, or trains leaving for Salt Lake City. Honestly, it’s a big oversight on my part. 

The whole city is cordoned off by the US government, so it makes sense that all traffic to the city would be stopped.

The sun is squarely in the center of the sky by the time I’ve checked every option. No one is traveling to the city, and even regular drivers won’t make the route due to several roadblocks.

I make my way to a quiet alleyway, and pull out my latest loot from the fight with the Demon.

<Blue Window>

Demon Wings

Wings taken from a slain demon. For the minor cost of blood, these wings can be used by a player to travel through the skies at an incredible speed.

<Blue Window>

The wings are huge, even folded up. Twice as wide as I am tall, they share the appearance of bat wings, with a leathery feel and claws at the tip. 

I pull a pocket knife out of my inventory. 

My eyes stay on the blade of the knife for a long moment, then without thinking about it, I make a small knick in my arm. I suppress the healing of my gloves, and hold my arm over the wings.

A drop of my blood drops to the wings, and they shatter into motes of light. The motes of light gather into a stream that punches into the wound of my arm.

I whimper as my blood heats up, burning through my system. I immediately activate the healing of my gloves, and whimper some more as the pain continues.

A moment later, I’m kneeling in the alleyway, gasping for air. I take off my shirt, revealing a regular black bra.

Blood spurts out of my back, onto the walls of the alleyway. Wings unfold, stretching to their full length, before folding in on themselves against my back. 

I put my shirt into my inventory, grab my mask and put it on. I do my best not to make a sound from pain as the wings on my back flap, generating a gust of wind.

God-fucking-damn-it. Pain sucks.

Thankfully, my gloves keep the pain from affecting me too heavily.

I breathe in, then spread my wings out and look to the sky. The movements come to me naturally, like a second limb that knows how to move all on its own.

I exhale, and lift off, the g-forces making me feel faint as I shoot into the sky.

I unfold my wings, catching a wind current that pushes me towards the highway that leads to Salt Lake.

My breathing remains fine, and I wonder if my mask is helping me breathe, or if the wings are performing some kind of magic themselves.

I do have to say though,

Flying is fucking fantastic! I’d really recommend it to anyone who has the chance.

A smile spreads across my face as I fly through the sky, the cold air battling the heat flowing through my veins. 

Some part of me knows that I could perform some aerial tricks if I wanted to, but I also want to get to Salt Lake as soon as possible. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can go home.

I flap my wings, and my speed increases, moving at speeds I suspect my body shouldn’t be handling so well. 

It only takes me an hour of flying before I spot the wall surrounding the city. It seems that the government got their hands on some Beta Testers, because the dome of energy surrounding the city is clearly not scientifically made.

Before I get too close to the city, I dip and dive towards the road. 

At the last moment, I spread my wings and catch myself in one of the most epic landings I’ve ever experienced. 

I put my wings away, and the cold instantly hits me. I hurriedly pull my shirt back out, then throw a jacket on top of that. 

Since there’s a giant dome surrounding the city, I don’t think I’ll be able to sneak in, which means I’ll have to ask nicely.

Hello! Yes, I’m a sixteen year old girl with superpowers, can you please let me into the city filled with evil creatures without any supervision?

A black jeep approaches me as the first flakes of snow fall. 

I do love the snow, it’s so pretty after all.

The jeep stops in front of me, and I stop in response.

“This place is off limits to civilians. Please turn around.” The man in the passenger seat says, his gun lowered.

“Hello. I’m called The Paladin, and I have superpowers. Can you please let me into the city filled with evil creatures? I need to go in there so that I can help save the world.” I give the soldier my best smile.

I wonder how I look to him with the mask on?

Beautiful, I’m sure.