Chapter 112: Chapter 109: Jailhouse Standoff

My hackles are raised. The sheer nerve of Rosabel, demanding to see the son that she betrayed. Lightning’s protective fury sizzles through the link, and she doesn’t even know the latest.

Lamant is immovable. "Rosabel. The boy’s wounds are fresh and he has had to bear too much. Surely you can extend some motherly love and kindness. Give him time."

Rosabel scoffs. "I have been apart from him for weeks. I tire of waiting."

Not taking a hint, are we?

Minette contains herself with calm and grace. "It must be a terrible ache to be separated from your only child. What can we do to bring the two of you together?"

Rossa interjects, impatient. "The boy has been made soft by his father. He needs a firmer hand."

My teeth grind so hard that both of them can probably hear it loud and clear. The idea of Hans getting "a firmer hand" from this vile human being makes my blood boil.

Tactfully, Minette says, "I’m sure we can make him see reason. Lamant?"

Reluctantly, Lamant gets up. "I will go and see to the boy."

He’s not bringing Hans back. Is he? It has to be some sort of gambit. Yes, that’s it. He is just playing Rosabel like a fiddle. After he goes off, making his ruse convincing, then Minette can worm the information we need out of this oily pair.

The whispery shuffling of shoes announces his departure. The door clicks shut behind him. Awkward silence falls.

I check in via the link. [Lightning? How is he holding up?]

Her reply is sharp and thorny. [How do you think? We should never have brought him here.]

I lower my head. Of course, she’s right. Even if Hans wanted to come out of dedication to our mission. We should have realized the toll it would take on him, seeing his mother.

[You’re right. How do we fix this?]

She growls, her anger sparking a headache. [Quiet. I’m trying to calm him. That woman went at him with teeth and claws.]

I don’t argue, because it is true. We should have predicted that Rosabel would make everything about her. When has she ever done anything else? Oh, sure, she was pleasant for a few hours at the Beast Ball, but that must have been her limit. Anyone could do that.

Minette clasps her hands. "I know the pain a mother feels."

"Do you?" Rosabel sneers. "Have you been separated from your daughters?"

"No," Minette admits. "Not for long, at least. So, I don’t quite know what burdens you’ve borne."

Rosabel smells mellower. Appeased. Minette is playing to her ego. She had better keep it up. Otherwise, we will be out of luck.

Rossa growls, "Why do we waste time on this?"

"HUSH." Rosabel looks balefully at him.

What’s this? Trouble in paradise in the jail?

She continues. "You do not understand the pain of being estranged from a child. But you should be concerned with your own family. As flesh of my flesh, Hans is your son too."

Excuse me while I puke.

Rossa bristles, smelling even more rancid, if that’s possible. "That’s not--"

"HUSBAND."

Rosabel doesn’t raise her voice, but she is losing patience. I can just tell. Of course, he smells distinctly peeved, too. Rosabel’s insistence on seeing her son must stick in Rossa’s craw. He is faux nurturing, to beasts, anyway. Hans doesn’t even matter to him. What a creep.

Then again, Rosabel will never win Mother of the Year. No acknowledgment of the pain that she has caused Hans. It’s all about her. Her pain.

I contact Lightning. [The woman is a nightmare. How is Hans?]

Lightning has remembered to breathe and regroup. [Shaken. He thought that he was prepared to see her again, but evidently not.]

[I wouldn’t be, and I’m not even related to her.]

Lightning is all indignation. [Maartenwitz is with us. He does not want Hans to go anywhere near that woman.]

I fill her in on what Lamant is doing. Leaving the jail with the pretext of going to talk some sense into Hans, but in truth, going to solace him.

[How did she think he would react?] Lightning is fuming. [You cannot force him to be in a room with her again. I will bite and claw someone to shreds. Pregnant or not!]

My fierce mate. My heart bursts with love. [Lamant won’t let him go back in there. We will just pretend that he is coming. Long enough for Minette to trap them.]

A wave of fierce righteous joy sweeps me. Lightning is on board. Unequivocally. [Good! Manage Minette. She cannot let that elf wiggle out of this and get to Hans.]

[You know I will not let her.]

[I know. Now, let me help Hans, and you help Minette.]

Lightning’s complete faith in me bathes me. I underestimated Amber, aka Lightning, as a partner in the real human world. And it’s because of me that she is spending all her waking hours on this game, trying to free me.

When I get back to the real world, I will spoil her. I will be the boyfriend and fiancé and partner that I deluded myself into thinking I was. Not just attention crumbs in-between goals. She will be my goal. She is a fellow law student and smarter than I am. No backseat needed.

Ironically, System was right about one thing, even if its pitch was self-serving: In this game, I can be a good partner to Lightning/Amber, better than I was in life. But it is not the same as having that human touch and holding her and doing human things. Tiger cuddles and mating and dens are all very well, but I want more.

Minette’s voice jolts me back to the present. "Rosabel, if I may call you that, I understand your pain. Your husband does not. He has never had a child of his own.

Rossa sputters. "The beasts--"

"Neither you nor I gave birth to the beasts," Rosabel sniffs. "They can’t replace my Hans."

I communicate with Lobo. [Tell Minette that’s her opening. It’s wide enough for an elephant to run through.]

Lobo woofs. [She knows.]

Minette leans forward, elegant and poised, but all concern. "Yes, the beasts. Your husband and you spoke of liberating them. Liberating them from the beast taming system. That’s why you targeted Blaze the first time, many weeks ago. That’s why you did it again recently."

"Yes," Rossa bellows. "The system must be dismantled."

THUMP. Rossa’s fist pounding the table elicits an immediate response from the guard. "Any violence and you will be removed," he barks.

"Oh, shut it, you tool of the system," Rossa sneers.

Lobo’s voice is sardonic in my mind. [This seems very meta. Do you get that sense?]

[As an NPC and a piece of code, the guard is a tool of the System.]

Lobo is thoughtful. [As are we all. Did you know that Rosabel at least is attached to a player character? I was attached to her till you switched me for Shade.]

We haven’t spoken about this until now, of course. Far too much going on. But it makes sense. [Who is playing Shade, and are they an ally?]

Lobo’s answer is swift. [My friend Sam. Samson Weaver. I think you met him.]

I have a vague memory of one of Josh’s gamer geek friends. [Oh yes.]

[He was OK with the plan when he understood what I was trying to do. He’s anti-System. He’s seen his friends get hopelessly hooked on this game.]

Another casualty of what was supposed to be a fun pastime. [Where is Shade anyway? They said he was being kept safe, I think.]

Lobo puts the question to Minette about Shade.

Minette takes it and runs with it. "Rosabel, where is Shade?"

Rosabel ignores the question. "Why is Hans taking so long? Why, in my day, children respected their mothers."

She really does not care about the beasts. All she cares about is Hans.

Minette’s eyes turn bright. "If we arrange for you to be permanently reunited with Hans, maybe even released, will you tell us who is behind this beast thievery? Who gives the orders?"

"Don’t answer," Rossa barks. "They won’t even tell us where Shade is."

"The Old Man of the Mushroom Grove," Lady Rosabel blurts. "That is our contact! He gave us our assignments, including taking Blaze."

I let out a little "mrrrp" of fascination. This sounds like a fantasy setup. A wise old sage. Older than Niall. A mysterious character. And mushrooms are always trippy. Just ask Alice in Wonderland and the Caterpillar. Finally, we’re getting somewhere. And maybe this old man has insight on beating the System. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"ROSABEL!" Rossa leaps up, his manacled hands swinging.

The guard yanks him away. "Back to your cell, beast pilfering scum!" He hauls away Rossa.

"Where is the fox?" Rossa shouts.

The guard’s answer is chilling.

"He died in our care an hour ago. I am surprised his tamer didn’t feel it!"

Rosabel’s only care is for her son. "Now. Let me see Hans!"

But I tune her out. Looking in Lobo’s eyes, I am filled with dread. He looks horrorstruck.

What happened to Lobo’s ally Samson Weaver? Did the System kill his character? And could he be next?