Double-Blind: A Modern LITRPG

Chapter 313

chapter 313

i told myself that it was fine. miles wasn't going to take down azure in the middle of west village. this time of day, there was guaranteed to be hundreds of people around. less than there would have been pre-dome, but more than enough to ensure things stayed on the civil side of hostile.

but the timing was bad. if miles and friends stuffed azure into the back of a van, the effort and ingenuity required to simply make the swap back would take up the rest of the day.

and i'd only accomplished a fifth of what i intended to do.nôv(el)b\\jnn

think.

"you've taken control of me before. can you let me do the same?"

azure grunted negative. "so many jokes to be made, so little time. with the maxed out bond it's theoretically possible. but i only just now worked out how to contact you over long distances. we could try—"

"no, nix that." i spoke aloud, standing up to close miles' bedroom door. this wasn't the time to trial something untested. if there were issues, anything akin to glitching or an imperfect depiction of body language, miles would catch it. he was already angry and his guard was up. "you're used to communicating with images, manifesting metaphors. can you relay how he looks and what he's saying to me in real time?"

"close to real time," azure confirmed. "that'd be a hell of a lot easier than the alternative."

and now, the definitive question. "can you do it while providing context for anything that happened after the tower?"

a hesitation. "yes."

"how much time do we have?"

"thirty seconds, give or take."

"short run down of your movements."

"i took a long detour-filled drive here—"

"specifics, azure. could it be explained away as avoiding traffic or a certain part of town?"

"... no." azure said, then amended, "some of it. but i went further up the highway than i needed to, missed my exit. not something you would naturally do."

i swore internally. "okay, fine. then what?"

"i stopped by a sports bar—"

"—which one?"

"don't remember the name, but it had a dark metal fence and a patio. ate wings and fries at an outside table, in clear sight the whole time. washed my hands, came back out, and went shopping at the outlets."

"what did you buy—"

"matt, we're out of time." azure's voice grew garbled as a desaturated image of miles appeared in my vision. at first, i thought my summon was wrong. miles didn't strike me as overtly angry. but still waters run deep, and there was enough of an edge to his apparent serenity that i was willing to trust azure's judgment over my knee-jerk impression.

"miles." i said, keeping my tone neutral but guarded.

"matt." miles bore a sharp smile, dropping it a second later and walking past me. "you know, it's tough to describe you. even harder now. calculated, kind, monstrous, all perfectly fitting depending on the day and the face you've chosen to wear for it. but this is the first time you've ever come across as... how do i say it?" he snapped his fingers. "ah, right. puerile. immature."

"you don't. i can go over all the details you want, but there won't be a solid way to confirm them until we're in the tower."

miles shrugged. "okay. start there."

i weaved my way carefully through the truth, only lying on the fringes. "azure's a lithid. you've already pieced together that a lot of his abilities involve psychological manipulation, but the goblin look isn't his true form."

"so he's a shapeshifter." miles observed, like he was commenting on the weather.

"with caveats." i interjected. "the potency of his power varies depending on location. realms of flauros are where he's strongest. he can maintain a form for extended periods of time in any dungeon or trial."

"or the tower." miles nodded along, then squinted. "but when he shot you, as myrddin, with what i can only assume was your own crossbow—as a side note, way to commit—"

"—thank you—"

"—maybe i'm getting old, forgetting details, but i'm pretty sure that didn't happen in a realm of flauros. or am i wrong?" he challenged.

keep the flush going. add a little shakiness to the hands, frustration in the face.

"i never said he couldn't do it anywhere else."

"but you gave me plenty of room to make that assumption." he gloated.

step in.

"keep interrupting me if you want to stay in the dark, motherfucker. the badger till they break shit isn't gonna work here. i wasn't done when you cut in, and if you'd like to hear the rest, shut the fuck up and listen." my annoyance carried through, raw and real.

miles observed it silently. then mimed zipping his lip.

"azure can only maintain his altered form for minutes on the hour outside of a realm. a few hours at most, only if he hasn't completely tapped himself out."

miles started to speak, pushed his cheeks out comically, then pointed at his mouth in a voiceless question.

"go ahead."

he unzipped his lip and smirked. "yet, here we are, well within the few hours mark. assuming you're telling the truth about durations, which frankly, would be the smartest thing to hold close to the chest. nothing about this conversation feels inauthentic, and it's difficult to imagine your pet shapeshifter is this, goddamn, slick," he stuck his finger against my chest three times for emphasis, "at mimicking you. but who knows? maybe you spent hours coaching him. maybe you skipped that, and you're somewhere else, hearing everything i'm saying and reading him the script. where would it be, i wonder? infringed on your privacy, your life. made things personal. wouldn't be shocking if you tried to do the same. my house? no, you're too smart for that." he snapped his fingers and leered at me. "figured out where the flat is, huh? you're probably in there right now, combing through my shit. well, any thoughts? nice space, good layout? like the bed i fuck your mother into?"

ah.

the spot-on accusation and layers of pressure had unsettled me, but he'd made a mistake leaning so far in. because i got it, now. why miles was acting so much more unproductively confrontational than he'd been in the tower.

no matter how much he ran his mouth, he still didn't have shit. he'd guessed azure was the key before he got here, but that was it. the script comment was a lucky guess, and he wasn't betting on it. if miles knew for certain, he would have come straight here, caught me in the act. instead he was gambling, pissing me off on purpose, assuming the logical conclusion—that i instructed my summon to not escalate or retaliate under any circumstances.

what i had in mind was crude. unsophisticated.

but sometimes the simplest solutions worked best.

cold cock the bastard.