The Concubine Contract Read online

  Lewd Shadowmancer

  The Concubine Contract

  A Lewd Saga Adventure

  Eden Redd

  Lewd Shadowmancer: The Concubine Contract: A Lewd Saga Adventure © copyright 2017 Eden Redd

  All Rights Reserved

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  "All that I am: anger, cruelty, vengeance - I bestow upon you, my chosen knight. I have granted you immortality so that you may herald in a new, dark age for the Scourge." -The Lich King, World of Warcraft

  Follow the links below to the Lewd Saga Series.

  Lewd Saga Adventures

  Lewd Knights

  Lewd Knight 2.0: Middle Kingdoms

  Lewd Paladin: Shadow of Fate

  Lewd Necromancer: Raiding Hearts

  Lewd Rogue: Golden Desires

  Lewd Dragon: Bright Storm

  Lewd Knight 3.0: Serpent Horizon

  Lewd Paladin: Dread of Night

  Or buy the entire collection in one omnibus

  Lewd Saga Omnibus: 7 Book Collection

  One

  A thin line of light crossed the abyssal gloom, creating a brilliant horizon. The line grew thicker and wider until eyelids blinked away darkness, to see lush trees filling the player’s vision. A strange peace fell over the player as he looked up into the azure blue sky, white puffy clouds and vibrant green leaves surrounding the edges of his vision. To say it was magical was an understatement. To experience it was to understand what so many people had been saying for nearly two years since the game went live.

  Nathan lifted his head and sat up. Knees up to his chest, he looked around in wonder as forest stretched out around him. The splendor was intoxicating as he drank it in, moment by moment. It immediately reminded him of all those camping trips he took with his family when he was younger. The earthy bark scent clouded his senses and he wondered how the designers manage to replicate the smells.

  Shafts of sunlight penetrated the open tree canopy. Nathan reached out and held his hand in the warm, yellow light. Maybe it was a trick of the mind but the player could feel the light on his palm. It brought a smile to his lips as he gazed at the simple shaft of light in a fantasy forest. Heart quickening, he wondered just how detailed the world of Lukken really was. It had only been a minute but he was already impressed and ready to take on the game world.

  “Hello young adventurer,” said a voice from behind.

  Nathan turned his head and smiled. An angel with white hair, black wings and a loose white robe hovered a few feet off the forest floor. Her smile was welcoming and her eyes emitted deep pools of fascination for the new player.

  Nathan turned around but continued to sit, his arms around his knees and a smile on his lips, “Hello!”

  The angel floated down and took several steps toward the young man, “Welcome to Lewd Saga. My name is Wynn. Are you ready to begin?”

  Nathan let go of his knees and casually leaned back, his hands and arms propping himself up, “Sure.”

  Wynn opened her mouth to speak and then closed it, her eyes making slight movements. A moment passed and she continued.

  “I see that you do not have your Mind’s Eye Gear suit and love box activated.”

  Nathan nodded, “Yea, I only have a little bit of time since I have to get to work. I wanted to take a peek first before really playing the game.”

  Wynn gave a bright smile, “Of course, we can start anyway you wish to ease you into Lewd Saga. What would you like to begin with?”

  Nathan sat and pondered. He knew all about the VRMMORPG from his own research, but he couldn’t jump on the Lewd Saga bandwagon when it first came out. The system was very expensive, so he felt like he had fallen behind. Lewd Saga had grown in popularity and it seemed everyone was playing it in some form or fashion. This was a motivating factor for him to get a crappy job just to be able to buy it.

  The excitement began to whirl through his heart. He was finally here, and wishing he didn’t still need his crappy job so he could play all the time. Thoughts flashed to his game research and he smirked. It wasn’t just the love and sex the game provided but the massive game upgrades they added to appease many different types of players. The platform had become so versatile; the media outlets seemed to have a constant segment about it.

  “Tell me about the level and game progressions,” Nathan asked.

  Wynn smiled, “Due to overwhelming requests, the world of Lewd Saga was upgraded to include casual and progression play. You may choose to play any character class/race and receive the basic stats to your character under casual play or play progression, where you will receive alerts, combat log updates and loot stats. The upgrades assist in tailoring to your gaming style.”

  Nathan returned the angel’s smile, “Can I have a little of both?”

  Wynn nodded, “You may customize alerts, combat logs and loot stats to whatever you desire. Lewd Saga is a game meant to please even the most intricate and detailed game play.”

  The angel knelt down and looked into Nathan’s eyes, “Despite these upgrades and changes, the game is meant for high fantasy, romance and sensual encounters.”

  Nathan held her gaze for a moment before his eyes drifted down to her exposed cleavage. Wynn stayed where she was, her lips curving into a playful smirk.

  “Would you like to begin your character creation?”

  Nathan’s eyed bounced back to the angel’s beautiful face. Dizziness took root, for the player couldn’t decide where to start first. Nathan had wanted to experience the game for so long, and had a long list of possible character races and classes he wanted to play. He spent hours poring over websites and gathering information but he never settled on a starting character.

  The player opened his mouth and then closed it. Mind drawing a blank, a small whisper entered his mind about something he had to do.

  “Wynn, what time is it in reality?”

  The angel stood up, folding her wings back, “7:34 AM Eastern Standard Time.”

  Nathan’s eyes bulged before jumping to his feet, “Shit!”

  “You may call up your menu commands with a thought. The main menu will have the log out command,” Wynn said, unfazed.

  Nathan mentally called up the main menu. He didn’t realize how easy it was and slammed a mental tap on the “Log Out” command. The world around him melted into a stream of light, spiraling down a dark hole. The abyss yawned before several beeps filled the player’s ears.

  Nathan reached up and took hold of his MEG helmet. With a slight pull, the helmet was free of his head. Frantically, Nathan placed it on the table and stood up from his chair so fast that it nearly fell over, barely tapping the glass to a medium sized aquarium nearby. A turtle in a large fish tank poked its head out of its shell to see Nathan pulling off his sweat pants and black shirt. Hands moved in a blur, picking up his uniform laying on top of a dresser. The white and yellow colors of his work clothes glowed like radiation burns in the dim light. Once the uniform was on, he glanced over to the turtle and gave it a small smile.

  “Have a good day, Shelly. I’ll be back later with some goldfish,” Nathan grinned before racing to the stairs and darting upward into the house.

  Nathan’s dad looked up from his tablet at the kitchen table just as Nathan burst from the basement door. Like a white and yellow streak, he was out the backdoor of the kitchen and charging toward his car, keys in hand.

  Nathan’s father watched as the backdoor swung closed, “Good morning to you too, son.”

  The older man went back to his tablet, sipping his coffee as bright shafts of sunlight filled the kitchen.

  ***

  The drive-thru was silent except for th
e tiny buzzing sound coming from the damaged audio equipment. Nathan’s hand scribbled absently as his thoughts drifted to far off places. The low buzzing relaxed him as he thought about the character classes and races he could create in Lewd Saga. A flush of excitement wrapped around his nerves. Thoughts flashed to the possibilities. All he could think about was going home, and maybe calling out the next day.

  The young man felt a glimmer of hope as the pencil scribbled on. Life had been unfair for so long, he could never bring himself to true happiness. Try as he might, he wanted to be happy but the world seemed to go out of its way to press down on him like a boot at his neck. Thoughts of gameplay brought a touch of joy to his frayed senses. A virtual world had opened up, letting him taste the light for a few brief moments. If he wasn’t at work, the young man might have let out a joyful laugh.

  The scribbling stopped and Nathan woke from his daydreaming. Looking down, eyes focused on a black and white drawing of a woman with long flowing black hair and kind eyes. Shades of gray mixed with darker streaks to give the drawing an almost life like gaze.

  Nathan smiled for a short space of time before a shadow loomed behind him. Turning his head, shoulders tensed up and he quickly moved some papers over the drawing. In the doorway stood Johnny, a nice guy Nathan thought, when he wasn’t kissing the boss’s ass.

  “Lord Terence wants to see you,” Johnny said with a blank gaze.

  Nathan knew that blank gaze when he saw it. Johnny was always the one to fetch someone when Terence needed to discipline an employee in the office. A shiver crawled up Nathan’s spine as he pulled out the drawing, folded it and stuffed it in his back pocket.

  “What’s it about?” Nathan asked, trying to be positive but his grim expression said otherwise.

  “Don’t know. I’ll watch the drive-thru until you get back,” Johnny said with half closed eyes.

  Nathan wanted to call him a liar but he bit his tongue. The dread crawled along, digging deeper into his spine as he shrugged, pulling off the headphones and microphone. Handing it over to Johnny, Nathan slipped past him, knowing full well this was going to get worse.

  It was a short walk to the back. The open office door caused Nathan’s shoulders to slouch a little. Stepping closer, Terence sat at his big desk, tapping away at a keyboard and looking to a monitor. The dim glow reflected off Terence’s glasses as Nathan stepped in. The only noise was the gentle tapping at the keys before Terence lifted a finger and pointed it at the door.

  Nathan turned his upper body, took hold of the door and closed it behind him, knowing full well this was going to be really annoying. Disenchantment filled the young man’s face as he turned back to his chubby boss, sitting back in his cheap suit and motioning to the empty chair before his desk.

  For a split second, Nathan thought “Fuck this!” and wanted to turn and leave, flipping off Terence and the entire staff; as he kicked open the door to shining freedom. Instead, he sat down, stewing in the knowing and not knowing of the situation. It could be a write up or it could be that he would have to work weekends because someone higher in Terence’s good graces needed the time for their own bullshit. Nathan figured either way, he was ground zero for whatever was coming.

  Terence eyed the young man and smiled, “Do you like working here, Nathan?”

  “It’s okay,” Nathan lied.

  Terence was quiet, the silence sinking into Nathan’s shoulders. A finger rose up and pushed his glasses up on his nose, giving him that holier-than-thou smugness that Nathan detested.

  Terence continued, “I would like to believe you but your actions say otherwise. Today marks the sixth day you were late.”

  “My car wouldn’t start,” Nathan relaxed knowing now that he was going to get a write up. Terence was one of those micro managing bosses everyone hated. He watched the clock like a hawk. Behind his back, the entire staff made fun of him because of his stupid saying, “If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re early, you’re on time.” It drove everyone nuts. Shit happens. Even his best employee’s had at least one lateness write up.

  Terence leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped to each other resting on his chest and eyes half closed, “You know this is serious.”

  Nathan nodded and gave a quick look around, “Shouldn’t Diane be here when you give out write ups?” Diane was the assistant manager and they were always together when they disciplined employees.

  Terence’s smug smile stayed, “She’s at another location today but that doesn’t mean you’re not in trouble.”

  Nathan sighed, “Where’s the write up? I’ll sign and then you can have Diane sign it later.” Nathan was ready to end this nonsense and get back to handing out murder burgers to the populace like a good corporate goon.

  Terence kept his judging gaze while he grinned, “There is another option for you.”

  Nathan’s brow went up, “What do you mean?”

  Terence smoothed a hand over his slicked backed, black hair before settling it on an armrest, “After today, if you receive one more lateness write up you will have to be terminated from Kelly’s Burgers. I’d hate to see you go.”

  Nathan’s brow formed a blunted V, “Then don’t write me up. I promise I’ll be on time from now on.”

  Terence let out a little air from his lungs. It was meant to be a huffing laugh but it came out in a sinister wheeze, “You know I can’t do that…unless we talk it out a little more.”

  Nathan eyed his boss, the confusion melting to the background as his mind snapped to attention, “Talk what out?”

  Terence kept his serene expression as he spoke, “I can purge your records of any write ups if you do a little something for me?”

  Cold logic and sarcasm pumped from Nathan’s heart and into his mind. He had some idea where Terence was going but thought he would have some fun first, “I thought Suzanne was doing ‘things’ for you? Besides, I don’t do that kind of stuff, unless we’re dating. I’m not cheap.”

  Terence’s face melted from serenity to full on embarrassment. Skin turned red as fingers curled into tight fists. Nathan kept his face as calm as stone while laughing maniacally to himself. The whole staff knew Suzanne was servicing Terence on their lunch breaks at the nearby cheap hotel, behind Terence’s girlfriend’s back. They would often come back, slightly disheveled and a bit out of breath, no matter how much they tried to hide it. Nobody could figure out why she would sleep with a guy like him. He probably held some big secret that could cost her job over her head.

  “You are really fucking irritating, you know that,” Terence growled through clenched teeth.

  “You shouldn’t talk to me like that. I could report you,” Nathan said with a small smile.

  Terence squared his jaw, “Alright smartass, I’ll break it down so even someone of your level can understand. Hand over fifty percent of your paycheck over the next two weeks and you get to keep your job. I’ll even delete your past write ups to sweeten the pot.”

  Nathan’s face remained neutral. He’d heard the rumors but now he was one of Terence’s targets. The team often talked that maybe he had some secret addiction or was buying gifts for Suzanne. The guy was middle management but couldn’t handle his own finances. The whole thing explained why there was such a high turn-over rate at his location but no one did anything about it. Like true corporate demons, they stuck to their own while the low man on the bottom is forced to lick the shit off their boots.

  Nathan’s eyes narrowed as Terence kept his hard gaze.

  “What’s it going to be?” Terence asked but his eyes seemed to already know the answer.

  Nathan lifted a finger and tapped his chin. Long seconds passed and Terence’s smug look twisted into a seething rage. Another few seconds passed before Terence leaned forward. As he opened his mouth, Nathan lifted a hand, palm out. Terence looked to the hand and then back to Nathan.

  “I’m trying to think of the best way to say no,” Nathan said with a sarcastic edge.

  Terence’s demeanor sli
d away from rage to indifference, “Too bad. I lied about that one more write up and you’re gone.” Terence pulled a sheet of paper from his desk and slid it across, “Today is your last day. This details your chronic lateness and poor attitude. Your final check will be mailed to you. Don’t bother going to your locker, it’s been cleaned out and should be sitting on the hood of your car.”

  Nathan never looked to the piece of paper before him. Instead he kept his gaze steady on the piece of garbage sitting across from him, “I will report you.”

  Terence sat back, “Go ahead. Who do you think they’ll believe? I’ve been with the company for almost ten years. You have been with us, what, barely a year? Plus, all your write ups will show that you’re just another employee with an axe to grind. I’m sure the corporate lawyers would love to challenge you and whatever lawyer you pick off of day time TV commercials.”

  Nathan was to his feet, rage sparking in his eyes, “You piece of shit!”

  Terence stayed seated, the smugness returning to his face, “Maybe, but I’m a piece of shit with a job. Johnny will escort you out. Don’t bother using me as a reference.”

  Terence looked back to his computer screen and began typing away. Nathan stood, blood boiling and a seething disgust rolling through chest. Wild urges to grab the computer and smash it on the floor painted his mind. Frustration and pain swirled into an inner tornado as fingers flexed. All it would take was one more sarcastic word and Nathan would tear the office apart.

  “The door is right there,” Terence said without looking up.

  Nathan wanted the match to go off, but it didn’t. The inner storm spiraled but his hands stayed at his sides, thoughts of the police coming in and arresting him splashed cold water on his heated desires. If he did anything, it would only further protect Terence and land Nathan in a jail cell for a few hours. Despite the vile situation, Nathan knew he wouldn’t win this game.

  Without another word, Nathan turned to the door and wretched it open. Johnny was on the other side, eyes wide and trying to be innocent. Nathan walked on, head held high as Johnny followed. The staff gathered at the front, all eyes on Nathan as he silently stepped through them and into the main room. Taking his Kelly’s Burger’s apron off, he balled it up and threw it over the counter. No one said anything as he kicked open the side door and walked out into the parking lot.