Game Breaker Page 9

  She watched him closely for a moment, then nodded her head and stepped back. “Fine. What should I call you?”

  Her tone warned him to be cautious. He wasn’t sure what to say until he glanced at his hand. The initials across the back were green with his uncertainty. He held it up so she could see it.

  “I’m Game Breaker.”

  She snorted. “That’s almost as bad as your other name.”

  Before Breccan could feel insulted, he noticed the teasing glint in her eyes. She took his hand. A tingle ran up his arm at her touch.

  “Let’s see,” she mused. “G.B.K.R. That’s a lot of initials.”

  “They’re—”

  She raised a hand to cut him off. “Don’t start, newb. I already know way too much about your personal life. We don’t need to get into it.” She fell silent for a moment, then said, “I can’t call you Game Breaker and still take you seriously.” She shot him a look. “You couldn’t have gone for something less pretentious?”

  “It was my friends,” Breccan mumbled.

  A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her lips. “You should probably get better friends,” she advised. She tipped her head, then said, “G.B. I’m going to call you Gabe. What do you think?”

  “Gabe?” Breccan repeated. “Gabe.” He glanced at his hand. “I guess I could handle that. What about the K.R.?”

  “You’ve got a first name, don’t push it,” she replied. She dropped his hand. “Let’s get going, Gabe. We’ve got a lot to see.”

  Breccan followed her wordlessly through the restaurant where she caught a roll out of the air and ate it on their way out as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She led the way to the elevator and back inside. A pang of regret lingered in the back of Breccan’s thoughts that he hadn’t tried even a bite of the chocolate castle. His mother would disown him if she knew.

  The girl stared out of the window as they passed multiple floors.

  Breccan opened his mouth to ask her a question, then realized he didn’t even know her name. “So what do I call you?” he asked.

  She glanced over his shoulder at the other occupants of the elevator. Her gaze quickly lowered and her cheeks were brushed with red when she turned back to the window.

  “Call me Jorie,” she said quietly.

  Breccan didn’t understand her sudden embarrassment. He decided not to press it and instead watched the levels go by.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  Jorie’s lips lifted in a curve as if they held in a secret. “I’m taking you to the best first.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to save the best for last?” Breccan asked.

  She shook her head. “That would be ridiculous. Why would anyone do that? What if you never got there?”

  Breccan fought back a laugh at her tone and turned to watch the levels flow by. They became more grandiose and outrageous the further the elevator traveled. A few avatars got off at a street lined with black and white trees. Those who departed were picked up by a wagon pulled by strangely angular black and white horses. At the level above it, desert sands rolled on for miles. In the distance, a dust devil rose like a miniature tornado into the air.

  A scaled hand touched the glass near Breccan. When he glanced at the avatar, the man gave him a smile that filled his reptilian face.

  “There’s nothing like home,” he said before he turned to leave the elevator. The occupants parted. A blast of hot, dry air rushed in before the doors closed after the avatar’s tail.

  Breccan’s heart clenched. The Edge certainly wasn’t home. Holram City would never be home, and Kirik Reservoir was nothing but initials on the back of his hand. He had lost his home the day of the explosion. There was no returning to it.

  “I never get tired of seeing it.”

  The man’s voice broke Breccan from his unhappy musing.

  “Me, either,” a woman’s soft voice replied.

  “We come here every night just to look,” someone from further in the elevator said.

  “Us, too,” a set of girls with matching blue and yellow stripes on their faces and arms said.

  Breccan blinked. He realized the elevator had stopped, but a glance to the left and right showed no hands on the glass. He threw Jorie a quizzical look. She nodded toward the window.

  Breccan glanced out and then stared.

  A white castle far bigger than the chocolate one had been took up the entire horizon. On the side closest to them glowed several names. The title of ‘Edge Leaderboard’ was followed by Contessa and then Count Firestorm, both with the status of Fifth written next to them. Other names like SharkboyNinth and MasterofFrogs were followed by the status of Fourth. More trailed below, growing smaller as they went.

  Carriages with harnessed white stags waited in front of the elevator to take guests up the golden-bricked road. The path was lined with lanterns and small trees that bore purple and white flowers bigger than Breccan’s head. On either side, pale green grass was dotted with bright yellow flowers. Breccan spotted small, fluffy white rabbits feasting on the delicate plants.

  Faint, welcoming music flowed through the glass. Only one carriage rode toward the castle with occupants who must have departed earlier. Light glinted from something on the top of an avatar’s head, making Breccan squint. Techsecs stood outside of the elevator and several more were visible near the carriages. Breccan had heard what one of the strange security enforcers could do. He couldn’t imagine what would require so many.

  “Where are we?” he asked.

  “Topton,” the man next to him said with a note of surprise. “How do you not know?” His gaze took in the green armband Breccan wore, then he nodded, which sent the little mouse that had been sitting on the top of his head running to perch on his shoulder instead. “Oh, I see.” He gave Breccan a kind smile. “Topton is where the royalty reside. They have parties, balls, masquerades, and all manner of fun.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “This is where the most fun is to be had in the Edge, they say.”

  Breccan looked at Jorie. “We should get out here.”

  Jorie’s eyes widened. “We can’t! We aren’t royalty.”

  Breccan held up his arm. “I’ve heard that ECs can buy anything in the Edge.”

  She shoved his arm down. “Put that away!”

  Breccan couldn’t help grinning at the faint light of horror and hope that warred in her gaze.

  “Tell me what we need to do,” he said.

  “First, you need to look like royalty,” a woman with feathers instead of hair said.

  “Like a princess,” the little girl holding her hand echoed. Diamonds circled the girl’s eyes and made up a tiara across her forehead. Her sparkling shoes and sequined pink dress made her look as though she belonged with the royalty.

  Breccan smiled at the little girl. “So where do I help my friend get dressed up like a princess?”

  “The Up and Ups,” the girl replied with such excitement she danced at the thought.

  “Do you want to help her pick out dresses?” Breccan asked.

  The little girl nodded so quickly Breccan was amazed she didn’t fall over.

  “Can we go, Sis?” she begged.

  The woman next to her hesitated, then nodded. Her blue, black, and purple feathers ruffled like an elegant crown. “I supposed we don’t have anything else planned.”

  “We can go!” the girl announced.

  Breccan met Jorie’s gaze. Astonishment and disbelief warred with something that made her violet eyes glow.

  “What do you say? Want to become a princess?” He held out his elbow like he had seen done in the old movies his mom used to make them watch on weekends.

  Jorie shook her head. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

  Breccan remained standing with his arm out, his expression teasing and stubborn at the same time until she gave in. When she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow, a cheer went through the crowd. Chattering about the newest styles, what avatars had s
een some of the royalty wear, and for some reason a lot of talk about diamond horns flooded through the group. As the elevator slowly lowered, Breccan realized he had unwittingly developed another fan base.

  Nearly half of the remaining crowd in the elevator got out at the Up and Ups. Breccan hoped it was a coincidence, but his hope faded when everyone waited for him and Jorie to join them. As soon as the elevator doors closed, everyone turned to him expectantly. Breccan felt more anxious than he had facing the Battle Boss.

  He couldn’t help the hint of nervousness that showed in his voice when he said, “Does anyone know where to start?”

  “Allow me.”

  A young man in a blue top hat and wearing a bright orange suit with a lime green vest beneath stepped from the crowd. He swept the hat from his head, revealing bright yellow hair, and snapped a smart bow. When he rose, he replaced the hat and held out a hand wearing a purple glove that matched his bowtie.

  “Sneedle Twenty-two,” he introduced. “I am on my way to work and would enjoy the honor of serving you. To whom do I have the honor of assisting?”

  Caught off-guard by the man’s sudden appearance, Breccan lifted his hand slowly.

  “Game Breaker,” he replied.

  Sneedle’s mouth formed a giant O. “The vanquisher of Avit Torpedo, Battle Boss of the Fifty-third and bane of Churlish the Mighty?”

  “I have no idea what you just said,” Breccan replied as he shook the man’s hand.

  He glanced at Jorie; she gave him a shrug with an amused look on her face. The avatars behind her appeared just as astonished as the brightly dressed man.

  Sneedle continued his rant. “You have no idea what an honor this is, Sir!”

  Breccan mouthed, “Sir?” to Jorie.

  She didn’t bother to hide her amusement at his discomfort.

  “Allow me to show you to the greatest seamstresses and tailors in the Up and Ups,” Sneedle said. “It would be an honor to introduce you, to have my name associated with yours, to—”

  “That would be great,” Breccan said.

  Sneedle put a gloved hand to his mouth. He looked at the other avatars. “The honor is mine!” he said with a squeak. He realized he was still shaking Breccan’s hand and dropped it to give another bow. When he rose, he held out his hand again. “Come with me, my liege.”

  Breccan didn’t take the man’s hand, but he decided to play along. He held out his arm to Jorie and asked while feeling ridiculous, “Shall we, my darling?”

  She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and replied without missing a beat, “We shall, my treasure.”

  They both stifled laughs as they followed Sneedle with their entourage close behind.

  The ribbon-lined pathway led to three buildings. The first said Up, the second, Up and Up, and the third was called Up and Away.

  “The Up and Ups,” Breccan said. “I get it.”

  Jorie threw him a grin. “I knew you’d get accustomed to this place, my liege.”

  Breccan couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face at her teasing. “It’s your day to be a princess, remember?”

  A hint of concern showed in her gaze when they walked past the first two buildings and paused in front of the third. “I can’t be here.”

  Breccan glanced at her arm, but her ECs and levels still weren’t visible. He winked at her. “This is my treat. You promised the best first, remember?”

  “I didn’t mean for me,” she replied.

  Breccan shrugged. “It’s only the best if I get to share it with the best.” He grinned, trying to win her over with the most charming smile he could manage. “Let me spoil you. It’ll be fun.”

  Jorie hesitated.

  “Can I watch them turn you into a princess?” the little girl from the elevator asked.

  Jorie looked down into her expectant face, then back at Breccan.

  “You can’t disappoint your audience,” he said.

  Jorie let out a breath and he saw that he had won by the excited twinkle in her eyes.

  “You are ridiculous,” she reminded him.

  He nodded. “And I plan to dress the part.”

  Jorie laughed and knelt so that she and the little girl were eye to eye. “Will you help me pick out my dress?”

  The girl nodded quickly, her eyes wide.

  “That’s settled,” Sneedle said. He pulled open the huge glass-etched door to Up and Away and announced, “To the making of royalty.”

  The crowd followed them inside. Breccan soon lost sight of Jorie as she was pulled in the direction of millions of dresses while Sneedle Twenty-two led him through a section that was apparently tailored to fit avatars with multiple arms, tentacles, wings, scales, spikes, and anything else imaginable. Breccan paused to watch a girl with rainbow scales, neon pink glasses, and coral pink hair pull on the jacket of a shimmery, pale pink suit. She buttoned the top button, then saw him watching and gave a self-conscious smile.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think it looks great,” he told her. “In fact, you should add the hat.”

  She picked up the matching pink hat that looked like a cross between a cowgirl hat and a sunhat with a big white flower on one side. She put it on her head and grinned at him, showing pointed canine teeth.

  “How do I look now?”

  “Perfect,” Breccan replied. “It looks like it was made for you.”

  That brought an even bigger smile to her face.

  “Thank you,” she said before she started rifling through the clothes again.

  “Pretty soon you’ll be vying for my job.”

  Breccan turned to find Sneedle waiting on him. He shook his head. “I really don’t have any sense of style.”

  Sneedle looked him up and down. “I highly doubt that. Your personal choices showed a refined sense of, shall we say, rugged taste? That’s not a bad thing.”

  The compliment caught Breccan by surprise. “Uh, thanks,” he replied. He followed Sneedle past the unusual outfits and into the suit section. He was amazed to see that they came in every color he could ever want. “Maybe if I fail as a fighter, I can come work here.”

  Sneedle shook his head with a slight droop to his shoulders that hadn’t been there before. “If you can avoid working off debt in the Edge, do it,” he said. The lightness to his tone had vanished and instead was replaced with a current of regret. “As rewarding as a job like this can be, there are far better things to do with your time here.”

  Breccan was taken by his tone enough to ask, “How did you end up with a debt?”

  Sadness touched the man’s gaze when he replied, “I got mixed in with the wrong crowd early. Cheaters never prosper, so they say, and so they prove. Stay away from the Dark Web. Upgrades aren’t worth the penalties, and you can only run for so long.”

  “Couldn’t you just stop coming to the Edge?” Breccan asked.

  A hint of amusement chased some of the sorrow from Sneedle’s expression. “You really are a newb, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “The Edge is as addicting as any form of escape from our world can be. The sad part is when life here, even as a toiler, is better than the life we lead out there.” His voice lowered and he said, “The problem comes when you stop remembering which one is real.”

  Breccan didn’t know how to respond to that.

  Fortunately, before he could come up with something, Sneedle waved his hand in front of his face as if brushing away a foul smell and grinned. “Well, that got more serious than I planned. Let’s focus on you, shall we?”

  “Only if you want to,” Breccan replied.

  Sneedle nodded. “I’ve been more real with you than anyone else in years. It’s the least I can do for you putting up with my remorse.” He waved an arm to indicate the clothes around them. “What would you like? As you can tell, anything you can imagine is possible.”

  Breccan could see by the man’s expression that he was done talking about himself and wanted to move on. He turned in a circle. The variety of suits, vests
, tuxedos, cummerbunds, socks, overcoats, scarves, and shoes was overwhelming. It was hard enough to choose the regular black and white, not to mention the assortment Sneedle seemed familiar with.

  “I honestly have no idea,” he admitted.

  Sneedle gave him a pitying look. “Well, lucky for you, you came here with me.” He straightened his purple bowtie. “As you can see, I have a flair for the eccentric.”

  Uncertainty filled Breccan. “Do you think eccentric is my style?”

  “For Topton?” Sneedle replied. Without waiting for Breccan to answer, he shook his head. “No. The last thing you want to do in Topton is outshine the shiniest. You know what I mean?”

  Breccan shook his head, utterly lost.

  Sneedle grinned. “Well, Battle Boss slayer, it’s a good thing I’m here. Can I see what we have to work with?”

  Breccan wasn’t sure what he was talking about until he followed the man’s gaze to his wrist. He lifted his arm.

  Sneedle gave a low whistle. “For a newb, you seem to have acclimatized to the Edge perfectly.” He tipped his head welcomingly. “Come on, Game Breaker. It’s time for your Cinderella story.”

  Breccan laughed. “Does that mean you’re my fairy godmother?”

  That brought a chuckle from Sneedle. “I guess it does.” He made a show of looking around. “Now, where did I put my magic wand?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Breccan shifted his weight from foot to foot as he stood by the elevator. He couldn’t explain why he felt so nervous. His black shoes were snug, but Sneedle had reassured him they were the perfect fit. The fact that they were so shiny he could see his face reflected in them let him know how expensive they were, yet a glance at the numbers on his arm showed that his ECs had barely gone down. He was just beginning to understand the amount he had won.

  He reached up to loosen his collar, but Sneedle slapped his hand away. “If you mess up that perfectly tied masterpiece knot in your cravat, so help me,” he threatened. His eyes twinkled, belying the threat to his tone.

  Breccan lowered his hand and instead adjusted the lapels of his three-piece suit once more. Though they could have gone for something more intricate, Sneedle had settled on a simple but perfectly fitting black suit coat with tails, a deep purple vest, a black button-up shirt with silver cuff links, and a cravat that was one shade darker than the vest. Breccan had never heard of a cravat up to that point, but Sneedle had reassured him that only the fanciest of nobility in the Edge wore them.