Tearing The Shroud by JM Bray Page A

was supposed to be.
    ‘It took you guys long enough.’ With Emily’s words the moment dissolved and Vincent’s heart leaped into his throat.
    ‘Watch out,’ Mike said.
    ‘I mean,’ she went on as if he hadn’t spoken, ‘I’m not one...’
    ‘She’s not...’ Mike continued.
    ‘to complain, but we’ve...’
    ‘in a very...’
    ‘been here getting soaked...’
    ‘good mood.’
    ‘for the last five minutes, and to top it all off...’
    ‘Emily.’ Knife’s quiet authority silenced everyone. His face hardened, and Vincent understood how he might have gotten the nickname.
    Flea put one hand on his shoulder, defusing the moment. ‘Knife, do you have the tool, or did we forget it again?’
    ‘No, I brought it.’ He reached into the breast pocket of his coat, produced a butter knife, and handed it to Flea. ‘Do it.’
    Flea stepped past E.T., knelt by the doorknob, and slid the knife into the crack between the door and the frame. The moisture in the air glistened on his face like sweat as he carefully worked the knife up and down.
    Vincent shifted the box onto his hip, and leaned in, trying to see what was going on. ‘Wait, are you breaking in?’
    ‘This is a little trick that Magi taught us. When a door opens outward, and doesn’t have a deadbolt, you can usually open it,’ he explained, as he pulled the door open, ‘with a butter knife.’ He presented the ‘tool’ across his arm like it was an ornate sword.
    Vincent shook his head. ‘Won’t we get in trouble if they find us?’
    ‘We never have,’ Knife said, as he entered the room and turned on the lights. ‘Live a little, Vincent.’
    He took a breath and stepped inside. ‘You can put the box there.’ Knife indicated a desk beside a round table. ‘Just hang out and see how the session goes, and at the end you can decide if you want to join our merry band of misfits. If you do, you can roll up a character.’
    ‘Roll up?’
    Julie had taken her place at the table. ‘Part of the game is left to the dice. You use them to help create the character you’ll play, and find what characteristics he or she will have.’
    ‘She? You mean I could end up playing a girl?’
    ‘And what,’ Emily interjected coolly, ‘is so bad about playing a woman?’
    Flea had settled into his seat and spread papers on the table in front of him. ‘Emily, do you just look for things to get pissed about?’
    Vincent held his hands up as if in surrender. ‘All I meant was that I wouldn’t know what a girl would do in certain situations.’
    ‘Don’t worry, Vincent,’ Knife said. ‘When it comes to sex, you get to say what you want. Me? I say yes. Now, if you’ll all sit down, we can get started.’ He turned to Vincent. ‘If you have any questions, feel free to ask.’
    ‘Thanks, I will.’
    The game began. Soon the rolling dice and voices adding to the story faded as Vincent’s imagination took over. He floated above the scene, nowhere and everywhere at once.
    Elves with dark, purplish skin and white hair charged down a forest road at a beleaguered party of adventurers. The dense forest lining the route prevented them from flanking the group of five but they trusted their numbers to carry the battle.
    A powerfully built knight drew a two-handed sword from across his back. ‘Looks like it’s time to test this beauty.’ He flourished it. Somehow, having E.T.’s voice come from the massive Warrior didn’t seem out of place.
    ‘Watch where you swing that thing. You almost took my head off,’ said a beautiful, leather-garbed woman with a rapier and Emily’s voice.
    The Warrior gave her a sidelong glance. The twang of a bow rang out and an arrow streaked forward, taking a frontrunner in the chest. ‘Well struck, Fiona.’ Flea’s wizard smiled at Julie’s elf ranger. He lifted his arms, holding a glass globe in one hand and muttered something. A fireball shot at the dark elves, exploding among them, blasting several into small, flaming