Persephone Rising: A Cyberpunk LitRPG (The Persephone Saga Book 2) Page 5

  I eyed the box. I had an idea for how to make this work, but I hadn't really tried anything similar before.

  The lions began to circle and with a sudden roar one lunged towards me. With my divine agility I was out of the way untouched. I ducked down as another leapt over my head.

  Divine agility or not, there were so many lions that they were going to limit my mobility if this kept up. That was okay, I needed them to kill me—but to do it at the right time. With my immortality, I could revive without penalty where there were flowers.

  I played things up as I dodged the lion's attacks. They were fast—a claw ripped my side and left bloody gouges in my flesh. Still, I was where I wanted to be, the wall below Valkyrie's box.

  I focused my will and murmured "flowers" just as a lion leapt for my throat. I let it connect, tearing at my flesh.

  I'd pulled it off. There was my spawn location. The roof of the royal box now adorned with flowers. I spawned and fell onto Valkyrie.

  It was Anton that made me think of planting my flowers on the roof. He'd used it to drop me into a death trap, but it came in useful here.

  I wasn't going to win any physical struggle. I had literally zero combat skills in this form and my real-world abilities didn't carry over.

  I still had exceptional strength and divine agility. I wrapped my arms around Valkyrie and dragged us both over the railing. The floor of the arena was a good drop and I got the worst of the impact. I think it broke my spine.

  "Bitch," Valkyrie said, staggering off me and stomping my face.

  That hurt. It was a short-lived sort of pain. She yelped as a lion bowled her over.

  One was on me a moment later and again my throat was torn out. Again, I dropped into the royal box.

  Below in the arena the lions were fighting over the remains of Valkyrie, tearing her to shreds. I thought of Venom and was a little nauseous, but at least this time it wasn't real. In the Network, Valkyrie would have a death penalty, but in the real world she'd be fine except for the broken arm.

  I made my way through an internal door.

  It wasn't that hard to find Billy. The sound of gunshots didn't quite fit the surroundings.

  He was trapped in a chamber. A heavy iron portcullis had dropped and sealed him in. The gunslinger looked a bit worse for wear, an arrow buried deep in one shoulder. The hall outside was filled with bullet-riddled corpses.

  "Billy," I greeted him.

  "Persephone. Don't suppose you can get me out of here?"

  I tried, gripping the portcullis with both hands and heaving. It groaned, but there was no movement.

  "Nothing," I said.

  "Must be locked somewhere," Billy said, falling back against the wall. "Not my best robbery."

  Several crates around him had been pried open.

  "Thought the treasure was in here?" I asked.

  "Then got trapped like a rat in a cage," Billy nodded.

  I rested a hand on the stone beneath the portcullis and focused my will. I needed something very specific this time. The stone shattered as a tree began to emerge, slowly forcing its way upward. Metal screeched and groaned, but life would not be denied.

  From somewhere above came a massive clang and the resistance ceased as the portcullis raised. Billy sucked in a breath and squeezed past the newly grown tree.

  "Want me to rip out the arrow?" I asked.

  "Rip out the arrow, I'm going to bleed out," Billy said.

  I feared he might be right and that if we did, he wasn't coming back for this round.

  I guided the way through the halls, making sure to leave a trail of flowers in my wake. The blooms were the dark crimson of freshly spilled blood, they always were with me.

  "Don't suppose you have a clue where the treasure is," I asked.

  Billy shook his head.

  "I think we should just make our escape," Billy said.

  That didn't sound like him, wanting to leave while there was still a take to be found. I knew Ismene had a plan here and I had to assume Billy was in on it.

  "Then let's go," I said.

  At the nearest junction we met a patrol of guards. I charged them as an arrow took me in the throat. I staggered into them only for a sword to plunge into my side. All expected, I was just buying Billy time to take his shots.

  I was back a moment later drawing in a gasping breath.

  "Don't it hurt? The dying?" Billy asked.

  "Every time," I said. It did.

  "Don't it bother you?" Billy asked.

  He was far too full of questions and it wasn't something I was entirely comfortable with. It had at first—I'd hated getting torn apart. The pain and those last moments. The more I did it though, I think I was starting to find it almost addictive. It was a rush, it was terror and fear and pain, and I loved it. I wanted to do it again.

  "Course it does," I lied.

  We only met one other patrol on the way out and the same tactics worked. Even knowing what I could do, it was the natural inclination for the guards to focus on the closing target, leaving Billy free to shoot.

  Billy leaned against me as we made our way from the arena. It was perhaps another hour until we were far enough where we could leave without a penalty and we each logged off.

  "Fun time," Billy said, shifting on the table and sitting up with a groan.

  Inanna was sitting in a chair, reading a tablet, and she tossed him a grin.

  "You were logged in from somewhere else," I said. It was a guess, but it made sense.

  "My quarters," Inanna said.

  Billy hadn't been the robber. He'd been the distraction, and when he'd gotten trapped I filled in to keep everyone busy.

  "We get it?" I asked.

  Inanna handed over the tablet and I took a look. Well, it wasn't the SantaFe haul, but it was a nice score.

  The floor rumbled beneath our feet.

  I triggered my Comm, "Situation."

  "Glad you're out," Diva said, breathless. "We've got hostiles."

  Well, if we'd wanted to piss them off, I guess we'd succeeded.

  10

  I found the others gathered in the lounge. A holographic display depicted the area outside the base.

  "What have we got?" I asked.

  "A problem," Diva said.

  A few buggies looked to be in flames, but alongside them was a massive vehicle that looked like the horrid offspring between a bus and a tank.

  "What is that thing?" I asked.

  "Armored personnel carrier. Made a good decade after our turrets," Hammer said.

  "They can't penetrate us," I said, but with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

  "That thing is going to be able to crawl right past our defenses," Diva said.

  "How many does it hold?"

  "Eight," Hammer said.

  That could be worse. That outnumbered the people that we had, but it could have been worse.

  They'd be the Wolf's best, though. Probably in battle armor and most likely using that combat drug of his.

  "If they're boosting with Fury, can we do anything?" I asked.

  "Working on it now. I scanned a sample from the lab," Ismene said, from a nearby console.

  We had to hold them until she could figure out something.

  "We'll play this safe," I said. "We're a biolab. We have safeguards for biological contagions getting out."

  "Those aren't in great shape," Sparks said.

  "I thought you were getting the defenses in order?"

  "Those don't really count," Sparks said.

  I just stared at him.

  "Guess they do today," Sparks said, after a moment.

  They did.

  The holographic display showed figures unloading from the vehicle. I recognized one. The Wolf Baron had come himself. He'd regret that, this was going to be no place for a lab technician with delusions of glory.

  They came through the front entrance and as soon as they were inside, doors sealed in front and behind them.

  An incinerator jet tr
iggered, catching one of the men and blasting him with enough heat to melt the armor to his body. It was just one though. That left seven and none of the others were foolish enough to stand in the way of the flame.

  Still, give it long enough and it would suck the oxygen from the air.

  It didn't have time. The internal door was torn apart.

  They hurried through. Here, the stolen supplies were stacked up.

  "Get inside and kill them. I'll look over this lot," the Wolf Baron said to his men.

  In the lounge, the holographic display switched between the Wolf Baron and the searching men.

  "I've got something," Ismene said.

  "It had better be good," I said.

  "Tidoxeral gas," Ismene said.

  Inanna frowned. "That's a minor stimulant. What are you hoping for?"

  "It does not react well with Fury. If I'm right, it should trigger their burn-out early," Ismene said.

  "Also turning them into super-powered killing machines," Inanna said.

  "Will you need someone to do it?" I asked.

  "I can carry enough on a drone, I think," Ismene said.

  That was the plan then.

  "Do it. Everyone else steer clear. Grab shotguns from the armory. Even with their enhanced reflexes a wide blast pattern will catch them and can put them down fast," I said.

  "You coming with us?" Diva asked.

  "I want to make sure the Baron doesn't get off with any of those supplies."

  Diva nodded and the others ran off. I hoped Ismene's plan worked. If not, the Wolf Baron's men would be a nightmare to deal with.

  I found the Wolf Baron had moved several crates of supplies. He glanced up at the sound of my arrival.

  "You didn't separate it. Who told you?" he asked.

  I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but it was obviously something I needed to find out. This was suddenly a whole different kind of conversation from the one I thought I'd be having—and I had no idea what to say that wouldn't give me away.

  "Who do you think told me?" I asked, like he should know.

  "Lannier? Desant?" he asked, closing the case and turning to face me. "They were wasting it. Bioweapon like that and they were just sitting on it. Lethe could change everything."

  Lethe meant "oblivion", it was a good name for a bioweapon. Nothing to do with Fury, it seemed.

  I had to keep him talking and I figured the moment he realized I didn't know what he meant, this conversation was over.

  "Why Fury? You had to know it would draw attention to you?" I asked.

  "Delivery systems aren't cheap. Not on the scale needed and it wasn't like Roma gave me a severance package," he said. Then the Wolf Baron rolled his head, raised his hands and wicked-looking claws erupted from them.

  Fiber claws. I'd only seen them worn externally, but his seemed to be internalized. Perhaps not just a lab tech.

  "That mean we're doing this?" I asked.

  "Tell me who told you and I'll make it quick," he said.

  That wasn't happening.

  He charged me. This was quick, too quick. I'd seen the people on Fury fighting in the arena and this was faster than they managed. I spun past him and his claws shredded a patch out of the wall.

  "Nice enhancements," I said.

  "You won't think so in a moment."

  I didn't. We met and traded blows, and he was a match for me in speed. In strength, he was my superior. I bounced off a wall as he grabbed my arm and twisted, wrenching it from the socket.

  I didn't want to kill him. I hadn't drawn a weapon so far because I wanted to find a way to keep him talking, but the situation was quickly escalating. He was too good. Whoever he was, this was no simple lab tech.

  I smashed my head into his face and grabbed for the extendable spear at my waist. I was down to one hand, but I'd been one of the best in the Olympian army with a spear.

  I caught him with a thrust into his leg, but it was a blow he took so that he could bury his claws into my shoulder. Muscle and bone tore apart under the shredding assault and the spear dropped from my nerveless fingers.

  That was both my arms out of working order. A dangerous situation was growing even more so.

  "Feeling a little disarmed?" he asked.

  "This is usually where men threaten to rape me. Not make puns," I said.

  "Not really a rapist and more a fan of wordplay."

  That made me think a little better of him. I was still going to kill him. I didn't have a choice but to go all out, and even that might not be enough.

  "I need to burn, Ismene," I thought.

  "Triggered. Busy. Stay safe."

  I felt that rush of intoxicating power fueling my muscles and seeming to slow time down to a crawl. It felt good, it felt really good.

  The Wolf Baron rushed forward, seeking to disembowel me and I dropped down, kicking out at one of his knees with all my strength. The bone shattered. The claws came down where I'd been only a moment before to dig a gouge into the floor. I rolled onto my back, this time lashing out with both feet to catch him on the jaw.

  Again, bones smashed at the impact and he staggered. There was too much focus in his eyes still. Whatever drugs he had running in his system only dulled his sensitivity to pain. Blows that should have been crippling were only fueling him.

  I understood too well how that went.

  I took a slash to the thigh as I delivered a spinning kick to his face that flattened his nose. When he charged me again I finally got the opening for his neck I'd been waiting for and crushed his throat with a series of more kicks.

  Gasping and struggling for air the Wolf Baron collapsed. I staggered to the far wall and did a bit of collapsing of my own. I was losing a lot of blood. Perhaps the new enhancement was doing something to make this burn less harmful, but right now I felt exhausted.

  "Inanna is on her way," Ismene said.

  "Did you deal with the others?"

  "Sort of. It didn't exactly go as planned. Hammer is a mess too, but he's going to pull through."

  That was pretty much our whole team with one kind of injury or another. It was probably a good thing I'd never become a tactician in the Olympian army.

  I looked at the corpse of Tiberian Reed. I was still a great soldier.

  "Tell Inanna to find the bioweapon. Whatever it is..."

  "I know. I'll tell her," Ismene said.

  It was the last thing I knew before passing out.

  11

  When I woke up I was in the medical center. The good thing about setting up base in a former biolab was we did have some great medical facilities. A holographic display at the foot of the bed rotated and showed my internals. I was no expert, but Ismene seemed to be patching me together well enough. The upgrade must have helped with my burn too. I felt a bit like a truck had run me over, but nothing as severe as what I'd suffered the last time.

  Inanna wandered past. She wore surgical scrubs that were stained dark with blood.

  "I hope that isn't any of ours," I said.

  "Unfortunately so. Things got brutal, the amped-up soldiers overheard us and proved distressingly capable of knocking down walls," Inanna said. She really looked exhausted. "Ismene has been handling you and I've been playing at being a useful pair of hands. Everyone should recovery, more or less."

  More or less. It wasn't a great sort of outcome when you had to use language like that to describe the result.

  Diva and Hammer both looked to be asleep on nearby tables. They had their own holographs with warnings displayed.

  At least not all of the team would be spending the night in medical. I'd take my victories where I could.

  "Did you find it? The bioweapon that was supposed to be in those crates?" I asked.

  "Found and secured away," Inanna said.

  "I've scanned a sample and I'm trying to figure out what it is," Ismene said, from a nearby speaker.

  "Any guesses?"

  "Only that it sounds like it's something he lifted from Roma along
with the formula for Fury. The name Lethe makes me think that it was Olympian, but I don't have anything about it in those records," Ismene said.

  "Would you?" I asked.

  "Probably not. Projects like that worked with small teams. I was one of your mother’s assistants and if she'd worked on it, I'd know. Bioweapons weren't her field of expertise."

  I hadn't thought so, although you never know what secrets your family was hiding.

  Ismene said, "There is something strange though. I was hoping Inanna might be able to help me out."

  "Inanna is going to need some sleep here soon, but the others are stable," Inanna said, moving toward a chair and peeling off bloodied gloves. "What do you need?"

  A hologram was pulled up that made little sense to me.

  "Interesting," Inanna said, the weariness fading from her tone. "This is Lethe?"

  Another hologram joined the first.

  "It is. And the second is another puzzle cipher from Aphrodite's blood," Ismene said.

  "Is this a diffusing mechanism?"

  "I think so," Ismene said excitedly.

  I cleared my throat. "So you're telling me that it looks like Aphrodite knew all along what he was really up to?"

  "This isn't a coincidence," Ismene said. "This whole cipher is specifically referencing Lethe."

  "So by sending us after him, she probably stopped something really bad from happening?"

  Inanna said nothing. I wished she would offer some opinion on this.

  At the party Inanna had called Aphrodite a monster, and maybe she was right. I didn't like the feeling of being led on by Aphrodite. This whole business of hiding a puzzle in her blood was deranged and unnecessary. However, it also might be the case that she'd just saved a lot of lives—and if so I had to take that into account.

  I had to become Aphrodite's friend. If Inanna wasn't going to give me answers, I had to find them on my own. Being live nonstop to the world took away any element of surprise, but it didn't mean I couldn't deceive. I just had to be consistent about it—play along and pick my moment.

  "I did find something more in my research, if you'd like to hear it. I don't know how relevant it is," Ismene said.

  "Which research?"

  "About the sample I found here in the lab. The one that was similar to Aphrodite's blood," Ismene said.