Brath stepped forward and pulled out his dagger. “Don’t you want backup?” he asked.
“I’d love some, but more people with me means fewer people to help the cadets. Also, that would put three of us in danger for a really stupid plan I’m still not sure is going to work. Sorry, Jollies.”
Gill rested his hand on Brath’s shoulder and turned the gnome around. “Come on, we need to help the other cadets.”
Brath, Gill, and Manny went back in the direction they thought the other cadets might be in. In the dark distance, there was a roar from the orc.
Alex reached out to Jollies. “Could I hold you?” she asked. “It’ll make moving in the dark easier since you’re going to be farther from Manny.”
Jollies flew into Alex’s palm, and she closed it as loosely as she could to keep from hurting Jollies. Then she took off in the direction of the orc’s shout. “All right, Jollies,” Alex explained. “On my signal, you’re going to turn bright white, okay?”
Alex could feel Jollies nodding. Then Alex stopped for a second, trying to calm her heart so she could listen for the footsteps of the orc. It was going to be a race to see who heard the other first. Alex had a slight upper hand, or at least she thought she did. She wasn’t sure if orcs had better vision in the dark.
The orc grunted, voicing his frustration at his prey getting away. That was all Alex needed. She sprinted toward the sound. When she thought she was close enough, she squeezed Jollies a little bit.
Jollies got the point, shut her eyes, and tensed her whole body until she flashed bright white. The part of the room they were in brightened instantly.
The orc turned around, dazed and confused, his eyes trying to adjust to the sudden bright light. Alex pulled out her knife and slammed it into his chest, pushing him back against the wall.
The orc didn’t go down. It wrapped its hands around Alex’s neck and lifted her into the air.
Alex gasped for air as she pulled out her knife and drove it into the orc’s skull. It let go of her and fell to the ground dead as Jollies’ white light faded.
Jollies flew down to the orc to check if it was really dead. “Holy crap,” Jollies gasped. “That just happened. You killed him!”
Alex wiped the blood off her blade before she sheathed it. She was still trying to catch her breath, but her neck didn’t hurt as much as she expected.
Her second orc of the day.
Alex knelt beside the body of the orc and checked it for anything useful, but found nothing. Guess this place is not going to beat that VR randomly-generated loot system. She laughed.
The limits of Alex’s physical body had definitely been extended. She was strong enough to drive a knife through solid bone. That was definitely an upgrade.
Jollies perched atop Alex’s shoulder. “That was crazy. I didn’t know you were such a tough guy. Never would have thought it from how you were acting with Brath.”
Alex chuckled as she walked back toward where she thought the other cadets were. “Well, I wasn’t trying to kill Brath. Dealing with bullies is harder than killing an orc. At least the orcs aren’t trying to torture me psychologically.”
By the time Alex and Jollies caught up with the other cadets, Brath and Gill had freed them all. “You took care of the orc?” Brath asked.
Jollies lit up bright white for a second, illuminating everyone. “Oh, man, you should have seen it! She was so flippin’ cool! That orc didn’t stand a chance.”
At least ten other cadets had been captured. Alex could barely make them out in the dark. She didn’t want to waste time trying to introduce herself to everyone, so she just asked the group, “How are you guys? Is everyone okay?”
A quiet voice came from the mass of bodies. “Yeah, they didn’t do anything to us. They just said they were going to hold onto us for someone.”
“For someone?”
“Yeah, they kept going on like they were waiting for someone.”
Alex looked around the room, trying to make out its features and figure out where exactly in the Nest they were. “Uh, anyone know where we are?” she asked.
Gill pulled up his map and pointed to its center. “We’re in the Great Hall. Guess when we aren’t all paying attention, the Nest relaxes or something.”
“Is this place alive?”
“Honestly, I’m starting to wonder about that.”
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light. Alex was dazed for a second and she covered her eyes, but before she could orient herself, a strong force like a wall of metal slammed against her and sent her flying.
Alex struggled to get to her feet as her eyes adjusted to the light.
“Ah,” a deep voice crooned. “More cadets for me.”
Chapter Five
In the blinding light of the Great Hall stood a man in a black cloak, its hood pulled down over his face. The light was emanating from him. He held a gnarled wooden staff with a glowing crystal atop it.
The man pulled back his hood. It was impossible to tell if he was an elf or a human or some other race. The features of his face seemed to shift continually, his eyebrows growing larger and moving as his eyes dropped to his mouth, which curled up to his ears.
The dark wizard raised his staff and laughed, a sickening sound like glass being broken. “I am Holmorth for the Dark One, and I have come for you, dragonriders!” the creature screeched, his high-pitched voice making Alex’s ears prickle. “My dragonriders!”
A horde of orcs filled the hall behind Holmorth. They looked like a pack of rabid dogs waiting for their master to unleash them.
Alex pulled her blindfold back down as she made her way to her feet. It
