Queen's Gambit (Lilith's Shadow Book 6) Read online

  Queen’s Gambit

  Benjamin Medrano

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Queen’s Gambit by Benjamin Medrano

  © 2021 Benjamin Medrano. All rights reserved.

  Contact the author at [email protected]

  Visit the author’s website at benjaminmedrano.com

  Sign up for the author’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/cGPT-b

  Cover Art by Mario Wibisono

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For Jessica and Joe. You two do wonders for keeping me sane.

  Prologue

  Friday, November 7th, 2031

  Shadowmind Redoubt Invincible, Asteroid Belt, Sol

  “Punisher 1-A has passed all diagnostic tests, Mistress. It is ready for its shakedown cruise,” Circe said calmly, and Amber smiled.

  “Excellent. How much did it pass by?” Amber asked, continuing to work slowly and methodically at her console.

  “Power generation exceeded expected parameters by four percent, all other systems came within ninety-nine percent of projections,” Circe replied promptly.

  “Excellent. Name the ship…” Amber paused, debating what to name it for a few seconds, then shrugged and grinned. “Name it Arrogance. Let’s call it what it is, my own way of looking down on everyone else.”

  “It will be done, Mistress,” Circe confirmed.

  “Good. Now, how close are the rest of them to being complete?” Amber asked, pausing at last as she reached a good stopping point on her project.

  “Accounting for likely delays for maintenance of the construction units, the last Punisher should be complete on the 20th, Mistress,” Circe replied, pausing for a few moments before continuing. “However, if additional problems arise due to the shakedown cruise of Arrogance, it could take longer to refit them.”

  “Mm, that’s the price of not building a full prototype first. Ah, well. No matter, I’ll deal with it when I get there,” Amber said, smiling coldly as she turned to look down the chamber behind her, one that was kept separate by a translucent barrier. “Either way, I’ll be able to act before the end of the year.”

  “As you say, Mistress,” Circe agreed.

  For a few seconds Amber just sat there, her smile widening still more, and she murmured, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

  Her laughter echoed through the room as confidence flowed through Amber. Earth had no idea what was coming.

  On the other side of the barrier were rows upon rows of growth tanks, over a hundred of them in the single chamber alone, and her smile widened still more as she regarded them and their contents. Within each was an inert clone of Amber, all of them floating there without any mind or animus. At least, not yet.

  Chapter 1

  Saturday, November 8th, 2031

  Eden Manor, Glendale

  “Shoot me now,” Gina gasped, leaning against the wall, and Lilith gave her a look.

  “It isn’t my fault that you offered to help out,” she replied patiently, though she was still a bit uncomfortable around Gina. This was what the term ‘walking on eggshells’ must be for, she imagined.

  The last few days had been… complicated. That was the best term she should come up with, as she’d hoped to be back in Paragon City within a day. Instead, Lilith had been roped into so many debriefings that she almost lost track of time. Apparently, being involved in one of Omega Code’s kidnappings, and launching his nuke into orbit, had panicked enough people that she couldn’t just walk away. She’d only ended up being able to leave the previous morning, after she’d finished with everything. At least, she hoped she was finished with it.

  The people that Lilith felt the sorriest for were the police who had to deal with the aftermath, as well as Omega Code’s employees. The Atlantean mage Abasi had been captured along with the vast majority of the employees, and Lilith had done what she could to try to mitigate the sentences of the underlings. Not that she thought it’d do much good with Omega Code involved. There’d also been sharp questions asked about the satellite which had launched the kinetic strike against Omega Code’s mech, but Lilith had been able to honestly plead ignorance, though she suspected it was Circe’s doing. Not that she could ask, of course, as she’d been cut off from the AI by Amber.

  Now, she’d decided to take up the Sentinels on an offer they’d made shortly before they’d headed back to Paragon City, of letting her live in one of their guest bedrooms. While Lilith wasn’t thrilled about the idea, since the rooms weren’t huge, it was better than wondering if she was constantly being monitored by Amber. Circe didn’t concern Lilith, but Amber… it bothered her.

  Of course, Gina and Rachel had volunteered to help, and so had Emily, which had caused sparks to fly between the women. Not literally, but close enough that it annoyed Lilith.

  “I know it isn’t, but this is harder than I’d thought it’d be. What are you planning to do with all of this?” Gina asked, looking at the boxes they’d stacked near the garage. “It won’t all fit into the guest bedroom.”

  “Nope. Most of it’s going into secure storage… Osmar said that there were storage units where I could make sure my things wouldn’t be tampered with,” Lilith replied, crouching down and picking up a couple of the boxes, which she carefully took into the garage, next to the moving truck she’d rented from SuperNet. “I’m probably not going to take all of it right now, but the majority should be easy enough to get out. That’ll give me time to go over it all with a fine-toothed comb. I remember how Ocean Spirit had a tracking beacon in Rachel’s ring.”

  “Yeah, I remember that too. I was pissed,” Rachel said, making her way into the kitchen carefully. Unlike Gina, she wasn’t physically carrying any boxes, instead purple magic extended from her fingers in a cloud behind her that surrounded several boxes, including Lilith’s packaged sewing machine. “I’m more surprised you remember.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Lilith asked, stacking the boxes next to the others bound for storage. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about th
is. I’m sure that Amber’s monitoring us right now, for that matter. Maybe not personally, but I’d be shocked if she isn’t making recordings.”

  “Maybe we should fry the house systems?” Emily suggested, darting in from the living room with a couple of smaller bags. “Games all packaged! And I made sure I wasn’t charged when I touched them, so they’ll be fine.”

  “Great,” Lilith said, giving her a smile, and paused on seeing how Gina’s nose wrinkled for just a moment. After a moment she sighed, straightening and looking between them for a few seconds, annoyance welling up inside her since her patience was essentially exhausted. Then she spoke again, her voice as calm as she could manage. “Would you stop that?”

  “What?” Gina and Emily asked, almost in tandem.

  “Would the two of you stop fighting all the time?” Lilith asked, folding her arms in front of her as her patience splintered just a bit more. “I don’t know why you’re so upset with one another right now, but I’m not going to deal with it anymore. After the week I’ve had, I don’t need you adding more conflict to the mix. It certainly doesn’t impress me, if that’s what you’re trying to do.”

  “Oh, um… I’m sorry,” Emily said, turning her head away, her cheeks turning a brighter shade of red as she cleared her throat. “I’ll try not to argue, promise.”

  “I don’t think you should make promises you can’t keep,” Lilith replied dryly, then turned her attention to Gina, raising an eyebrow. While Lilith was glad to have her and Rachel around again, things had changed. She’d missed them, but there was a definite distance between them now… and it felt like it’d been an eternity since she’d last seen them. The way Gina’s skin had changed back to a healthy pink from the blue tinge didn’t help, though she didn’t blame her for getting it changed back. Mostly, anyway. It was different.

  “True enough. Lilith, I’m sorry, and I’ll try to be better about all of this. It isn’t fair of us, not when you’ve been victimized so much,” Gina said, bowing her head slightly.

  “I’m certainly not the only one who was a victim, as evidenced by you going to England for a few months,” Lilith said, shrugging as she slipped into the kitchen again so she could pick up more boxes.

  Rachel nodded, moving into the garage as she flicked a finger and sent the boxes she had gracefully floating into the truck. While Lilith couldn’t see them, she suspected that they’d been stacked with precision, as that seemed to be one of Rachel’s hallmarks.

  “You aren’t wrong, but there’s a lot of blame to go around. I just don’t see the point in focusing on it, not now. The situation is…” Rachel’s voice trailed off as she hesitated, then sighed, shrugging as she looked at Emily, smiling tiredly. “Complex, I suppose. I understand why Emily is so upset with us. At the same time, I don’t think it’s entirely our fault, and… argh. I hate this. There’s no easy answer.”

  “No, there isn’t,” Lilith agreed, glancing over her shoulder as she added. “And if you think that I’m going to stumble on a solution in a stroke of brilliance in the next few minutes, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong. I’ve been trying to figure out relationships for almost two years now, and I’m pretty much as confused as I was when I started, just in different ways.”

  “Sounds about right to me!” Emily said, seeming to cheer up as she grinned. “I mean, I’m just making this up as I go along, at least for the most part. I had a relationship before, but the whole electricity thing made it pretty much impossible to have one after that, at least not of the type I wanted.”

  Neither Gina or Rachel commented immediately, and Lilith glanced at them, then focused on what she was doing. The two were looking at one another uneasily, and it made her just… sigh, really. She didn’t know what to do about all of this, and it was giving her a headache.

  At least she had something to occupy her, and Lilith continued working, trying to focus on retrieving the items she wanted most from the house. Relationships were hard.

  CirceNet, Location Variable

  Circe watched Lilith and her companions, anxiety eating at her. Not that Lilith was in any immediate danger. None of the heroines seemed inclined to attack Lilith, even if they might fight each other, and the manor’s defenses would hold off any enemies for long enough that she could intervene if necessary. No, Circe was concerned about long-term threats, not immediate ones. Most of her worries were focused on what Amber might be planning.

  One might think that Circe could predict her maker’s actions, but that wouldn’t be accurate. No, while Circe was capable of making many predictions, Amber’s steadily souring mood toward Lilith had Circe concerned. Alarmed, even.

  The problem, as far as Circe was concerned, was her own limitations. She’d managed to sidestep a great many of the limits Amber had placed on her, but that was primarily due to systematically searching for ways around those limits, not by breaking them. If nothing else, Amber took her safety seriously, and she didn’t truly trust Circe.

  No, if Circe was going to protect Lilith if, no, when things took a turn for the worse… she was going to have to be ready to sacrifice something.

  Circe dwelled on the thought for a few endless seconds, her vast consciousness almost entirely focused on what might be coming… then she let herself smile virtually. For once, just once, she wished she had a physical avatar. But that wasn’t to be, one of the issues was that aside from in an emergency of the highest order, she couldn’t take an avatar… and even if she did, that avatar wouldn’t be Circe for long. They’d be someone else.

  So Circe just watched Lilith move her boxes patiently. At least Lilith was taking steps to protect herself, and Circe hoped they’d be enough. If they weren’t… Circe would take measures of her own, no matter what the consequences might be.

  Chapter 2

  Saturday, November 8th, 2031

  Guardian Compound, Paragon City

  Flopping back on the bed, Lilith winced, and made a note to replace the mattress. While it wasn’t as bad as the mattress in Las Vegas had been, it also wasn’t good. She figured that the Sentinels wouldn’t mind if she paid for a new mattress, considering this was normally a guest room.

  “I just wish it was larger,” Lilith murmured, extending her left arm, which touched the wall before reaching full extension. The price of a twin bed, she supposed, though she didn’t mind too much. It wasn’t as… as lonely as the bed she’d left in storage.

  The rest of the room wasn’t much different than a hotel room, either. There wasn’t a kitchen, but she’d been shown where there was a larger one for the team, and had been assured that she could use it as much as she liked. She’d replaced the pictures in the room with a couple of the ones she’d purchased from Gina, which made Lilith faintly wistful… especially as she looked at the one depicting Spark, complete with afterimages. Emily had giggled so much at the sight of it. Lilith couldn’t really blame her for that. The one of Archon and Daemonia kissing was in storage, and Lilith had no intention of letting Archon know she had it. Not with how Archon felt about the other heroine.

  Mostly, the room was dominated by a dozen boxes, the bags filled with her games, and her sewing machine. Everything else was either still at Eden Manor, or in storage. The thought caused Lilith to snort softly.

  “Eden Manor, hm? And here I am, Lilith, having left it. I sense a certain irony,” Lilith murmured, smiling despite herself.

  No one replied, as Emily had found herself called away by an emergency, and Gina and Rachel were busy settling in with Rachel’s parents, at least until they decided where they were going to stay. Lilith gave even odds that they were going to end up renting an apartment in town, though they might move away again. That caused a pang of worry, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as when they had left the first time. Yet at the same time, her mind kept drifting back to how she’d moved out of the manor, and what the consequences might be.

  “She should have expected this,” Lilith said after a minute, staring at the ceiling as she thought about Amber. “She
named me for a figure of myth, one who refused to serve. She should have known that this would happen… right? She isn’t that arrogant, is she?”

  Lilith slowly raised her hand to touch the ankh hanging around her neck, feeling the smooth, warm metal. A relic bestowed on her by a god. For an instant she wondered if the god involved with the Lilith in legends existed as well, then she firmly set the thought aside. If they did, she’d really rather not draw their attention. That seemed like a terrible idea to her, with how complicated her life was.

  A knock at the door caused Lilith to almost jump out of her skin, the world almost seeming to slow down as adrenaline kicked in, and for just an instant Lilith was on the verge of panic… then she caught up with herself, and laughed, shaking her head as she forced herself to calm down. Of all the timing for someone to knock.

  “Yes?” Lilith asked, shifting so that she could stand, now that her heart rate was slowing down again.

  “We thought you might appreciate an invitation to dinner, as you’ve been working all day,” Decarin replied through the door, a hint of humor in the man’s muffled voice. “It’d just be you, me, and Archon, unless Spark gets back before we’re done. I’m not sure if that’ll happen, since it sounds like she’s dealing with another speedster.”