Hard Wired Trilogy DeAnna Pearce (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt) 📖

that a blue man standing right in front of her. The guy with blue hair from before, Aron, now was completely colored a rich blue from head to toe. Dark tribal tattoos covered his bare chest which bulged with defined muscles. The tattoos moved with the man, swirling and drifting as if animated. The only hair on his body that she could see was a short beard. He wore black leather pants that fit a lot better than they would on the human version of her teammate. He held a scimitar in one hand and a ball of swirling purple light in his other. He glanced at Ari and then continued walking around, scanning the surroundings.

A huge knight, Logan, stood off to the side. He had to be at least seven feet tall and clad in a gold and red armor that hid most of his features. A massive sword hung at his side.

Turning from the guys, she took in the landscape. A thin layer of green grass blanketed the world in front of them. Gray boulders created rock formations dotted with patches of grass, and an arch loomed in the distance. Foreign white trees were scattered amid the rocks, creating a lone path leading into the unknown.

A hand grabbed Ari from behind and she whirled around, knocking the person several feet back. Whoa. Ari’s strength astounded her.

Tessa stood, no floated, several feet in the air with the help of slowly flapping dark wings. She wore a blood-colored outfit with leggings and a tight shirt that could be a second skin. Her hair stood out like fire rising from the ash, wild and free. She had transformed into some kind of beautiful dark creature. Her dark eyes and plump lips were the same, but her cheek bones were sharper, stronger.

As Tessa approached again with a definite scowl on her face, Ari noticed the other differences. She now had red eyes, swirling in a mesmerizing pattern. Her features were also darker, her teeth, sharpened to points, and a growl came from her. “I’m glad you know how to use your powers, but please don’t use them on your teammates.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Ari looked down at her own personal changes. Her skin kept its tanned color, but her hair, which fell around her shoulders in curls, was now silver. Her body appeared taller as well, and her fingers were longer, ending with long sharp nails polished in silver. She touched her clothes, a smooth light blue color. The top was clingy but flexible. She wore a skirt on the bottom with slits up to her waist and tights underneath.

A shiver of fear coursed through her body. Ari had played her share of fantasy games but never in VR. The errors of the program were harder to find here, but they were here, she told herself. This is a game, and only a game.

Tessa had sped through some pre-game instructions that Ari pretty much had all forgotten. “Who am I again?” Ari asked.

Tessa gave a blow of exasperation. “You’re Oya the Goddess of the sky. You can control wind, tornados, lighting, and whatnot.”

“Not bad.” She played with her fingers, and the power between them sparked as if alive. The electricity that pricked her palms didn’t hurt but was like nothing she had ever experienced. Not reality at all. But definitely interesting.

“Get your head in the game, Oya. The others are already probably up and ready to fight.”

“Who is everyone else?” Ari asked as she took in her surroundings. The blue man had scaled a tall rock formation and was surveying their position.

“The blue man is Torq,” Tessa said, then motioned to tall knight. “He is Ra-soon.”

“It is time,” Ra-soon said.

The others walked ahead while Tessa leaned in close to explain the rest of the game. The teams had to find the Jewels of Achman. There were only enough jewels for one of the three teams to win and participate in the revelry back at the castle with the winning teams from other rounds.

Leaning in closer, Tessa added, “And I told these guys you were good, so don’t let me down.”

“Why would you say that?” Ari had never even seen this game before, let alone played it.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Tessa picked up her pace. “Just try not to get yourself killed too much.” Then she lifted off into the sky, her dark wings carrying her high.

The next few hours flew by in a rush. She had never been so scared or so exhilarated as she fought, ran, and tore through imaginary monsters. Her body had strength and endurance beyond a human, and the smile remained on her face even when a gremlin that reeked like rotten eggs punched her. The hits didn’t hurt as much as in the real world. Ari assumed that was part of the appeal. She only died once and hated waiting impatiently back in the club to be allowed back into the game.

It didn’t take Ari long to realize that she was the weakest link in the team. Tessa made up for it though, and they quickly collected five out of the six required stones. As they approached the den of Auni, they ran into trouble. A different team had already arrived and was battling a fifteen-foot troll and the gremlin creatures they had run into before. Gremlins weren’t too painful, but they drained your life and were difficult to kill.

Tessa and the team discussed their strategy before they attacked. They’d need to not only avoid the warlock and the gremlins, but also outfight the other team. The blue man, Torq, spoke first. “Okay, I will kill the troll. He looks large and stupid. Then I’ll distract the gremlins. You two,” he said pointing to Tessa and Ra-soon, the knight, “Take out the other team. And Oya, can you manage to secure the jewel?” He said this with such attitude that Ari was tempted to hit him. Something that she would normally never consider, but as