by Leo Romero
A couple of normies were loitering too. And by normies I mean vamps or ghouls. Shifters who usually resided on Earth as they could change form and fit in. A few goblins and elves hung around as well, visiting here from the Underworld for whatever reason. A lot of the time it was because people wanted to win stuff. The Netherworld was full of ancient relics, hidden treasures that had been lost over the millennia or hidden by plane pirates or mischievous leprechauns or fae playing tricks on humans. Trekkers would go far and wide into the ever-expanding Netherworld to map the place out in search of lost treasures, sacred artifacts, mythical beasts and legendary weapons both for themselves and to use as prizes at the Strip. You could get rich, in Netherworld terms, if you managed to find something ultra-rare and valuable. But you could also lose your life doing so. The Netherworld was a dangerous place and funnily enough, the most valuable stuff always had an uncanny knack of being in the most dangerous parts of it. That’s why if you were on the hunt, you’d always go with a trekker. It was your best hope of survival.
Our game was at one of the big card houses. The Pyramid. We moved past the freaks and jumped the line. The guy on the door, a rhinoman (irony much?) stopped us.
“Get in line!” he ordered.
“This young man is one of the players,” I informed the rhinoman, putting on an Obi-Wan Kenobi accent, just in case.
“Name?”
“Zane the Sorcerer,” I said. “Of Humboldt.”
The rhinoman checked the board with jumbled Netherworld writing etched on it. Most of it was nonsensical to me and obviously to the rhinoman too. “Zane,” he said, rubbing his chin as he stared at the board. I highly doubted he could even read.
I pointed at a random name. “There! Zane the Sorcerer!”
The rhinoman’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I can see! You think I’m stupid?”
I refrained from answering.
“Zane the Sorcerer. That’s right. There it is.” He turned to face us. “Entry fee.”
Zane held out the bag of pixie dust. The rhinoman snatched it, peeked inside and nodded. “Enter.”
I nodded back and moved past him where we were scanned by a centant, a centaur with the head of an ant. Its antennae ran up and down us like handheld metal detectors, searching for magic. I stood there with my arms held out as it went to work. It came up clean before doing the same to Zane. Once he got the all clear, we entered the main area with invisible Aurora in tow. It was a zoo of freaks either standing or sitting, some dancing to the raucous music playing onstage by a band of monsters. Behind the band was the table, ready and waiting. Behind and to the left of that, a section had been curtained off.
I gazed over everything. It looked like a busy one. I faced Zane. “All right, I’m gonna go grab a seat by the bar and keep an eye on things.”
“Okay, Mr. St—”
I threw up a hand to stop him. “Shh! Not here.”
“Oh yeah, sorry.”
“You gonna be okay?”
He took a deep breath. “I’ll have to be.”
“Don’t worry, Gabe. I’ll keep an eye on him,” Aurora said in my mind. I nodded to myself.
The music stopped. The band left and a familiar face came onto the stage to replace them. Baron Von Blatt. Frogface. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” he said into a microphone in his belchy voice, and everyone fell silent. As he spoke, I squinted my eyes and craned my neck forward to get a better look inside his mouth. Was that a prosthetic tongue?
His tongue looked all rubbery and shiny and kind of flopped up and down in his mouth as he spoke, giving him a weird lisp. Man, Frogface had had a new tongue implanted. I shook my head in disbelief.
“Welcome to the main event,” he said. “I’m pleased to host this card game where one winner will take a first prize worthy of kings. Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes upon...Pegasus!”
The curtain onstage was pulled back to unveil first prize. Gasps and croaks bubbled through the room. A majestic beauty was locked in a cage. A coat as white as the purest snow, not a blemish on him. A silken, cobalt-colored mane ran ablaze from his head down the length of his back. His eyes were two gorgeously lashed, giant azure gems, gleaming with intelligence in abundance, but they held sorrow and benevolence in equal measure. He didn’t like being locked up in that cage. Despite that, he hummed and shimmered with magical splendor, radiating grace and power. A mighty steed fit for an angel, not the low-life assholes who were about to play for him, and yeah, I included Zane in that with his dark arts dabbling. Sue me.
Pegasus’ angelic wings hung limp by his sides, rendered useless. My heart panged seeing him locked up like that. Those doe eyes hung in their sockets, making me feel worse. Some creatures just didn’t deserve to be treated like that. I got a mental image of Bogface riding on his back and I wanted to puke. There was no way I was walking out of there without Pegasus. Yeah, I was going to send him to the Void, but once in the Void, monsters sort of froze, like Wesley Snipes and Stallone in Demolition Man. He wouldn’t feel anything there. Locked in that cage, he was more than aware of his own imprisonment and that pissed me off.
He tried to rise up on his hind legs and his head hit the top of the cage. The crowd roared in either laughter or horror. Pegasus let out a sorrowful neigh and bowed his head. He wanted to be free to fly about the place, not locked up. I had a mind to rush over there and release him, but that would likely trigger off a riot. And a riot in the Netherworld would be one of the worst things I could think of.
“Players,” Frogface said. “Please make your way to the stage.”
“It’s all or nothing, kid,” I said to Zane. “Good luck!”
“We won’t let you down, Gabe,” Aurora said to me. I hoped she was right. I gave Zane a final pat on the shoulder. He puffed up his chest and made his way past the freaks to the stage where Frogface was lapping up the applause. The players congregated on the stage. Five of them. A motley crew. Zane had a stupid grin on his face as he gazed over the audience. He looked like he was actually enjoying it, which probably wasn’t a bad thing. I just hoped it didn’t make him lose his concentration.
“I’m in position,” Aurora said in my mind.
I nodded. I needed to take mine. I headed over to the bar and took a seat, which was far enough away from the main attraction to keep a low profile, but close enough to get a good look at proceedings. With the focus away from me, in the opposite direction, I could blend in. I ordered a drink and the bartender with giant butterfly wings, beetle head, and giant slug body slithered over.
My drink came and I stared at it like it was sewage water. ’Cause that’s maybe what it was. Brown and bubbly and murky. I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, pal,” I said to the bartender before he slimed off to get more orders. I left it where it was and turned my attention to the stage. The lights over the audience went low as the lights over the table went high. Silence fell over the onlookers, barely a whisper audible apart from the natural ticks and clicks of the paranormal weirdos. Frogface took a step back, allowing the players access to the table. They all took their seats and the game got underway.
Chapter 8
The tension in the room thickened. All eyes were fixed on the players at the table. The first few hands were pretty low-key. The players were just looking to settle in. I had my gaze fixed on Zane the whole time. He was fidgety, twitchy. I couldn’t tell if he was doing it on purpose or not. I hoped it was all an act. Just stay cool, kid, I kept saying to myself in my mind. Keep your cool. The number one rule of poker.
All the players were watching one another with keen eyes. Jharek, the wily, gray elf, had his eyes constantly narrowed as they darted sharply left and right, taking in every tick and mannerism of his opponents.
In contrast, Bark, the dumb ogre, was perched on a stool that was too small for him. He watched everyone with his mouth open, drool dribbling down his chin, his two cards held up in front of him, one in each hand.
Susu, the catwoman, watched the table with her holographic feline eyes, tap
ping her ginger-colored paw on her two facedown cards.
Gash was just sitting there attracting flies. Good ol’ Bogface.
One thing we had working to our advantage was Zane being an unknown to this bunch. He was a wild card. They didn’t know his style, didn’t know his mannerisms. And they didn’t know he had Aurora on his side. She was up there, sneaking around, checking out what cards the others had once they lifted them up to check them. Every now and then, Zane would touch his temples, indicating to me Aurora was speaking to him. He didn’t want to be doing that too often or the others would see a pattern. Well, maybe not Bark, but definitely Jharek or Susu.
I rubbed my hands; they were grimy. I wanted a drink. I flicked my eyes down to my glass of muck and I didn’t want one anymore.
A murmur went through the crowd. I focused my attention back to the table. Susu just put in a big bet. This was where Aurora would come in. If she’d gotten a peek of her cards, she could let Zane know whether it was a bluff or a big bet off the back of a good hand. Zane could then call the bluff or wisely back down. I saw him touch his temples again. Man, stop doing that!
He folded. I nodded. Aurora must’ve gotten him the info. Jharek folded as well. Bark and Gash matched the bet. The cards were shown and yeah, Susu was packing a flush, a very strong hand. The other two lost their chips, and Zane had avoided a battering. Good job. Looked like the plan was working.
I gazed around the stage. Frogface stood to the side of the table, arms crossed, his cloak hanging down like he was some kind of Sith Lord, while he kept a beady eye on proceedings. Pegasus still looked glum in his cage. Stalking the perimeter of the stage were a couple of centats, who doubled up as crowd control. They were sniffing out magic, their antennae whirling on the air, hooves clacking as they went. At the same time, their big, insectoid eyes scanned the crowd for trouble. I prayed they didn’t detect Aurora. So far so good.
The exotic nymph dealer gathered up the cards for the next round. Man, it was painful taking a backseat. I wanted so badly to be up there, beat all their asses, bag Pegasus, and perform backhand dancing Buddha riffles to entertain the crowd. I’d be in my element. Damn banning orders! They call me a cheat. I call them cowards!
The cards were dealt and the bets went in. I scrutinized all the players. Bogface was burping and belching, nothing new there. Bark was drooling, nothing new there either. Susu was contracting and retracting her claws on the air. Jharek was studying his cards. And Zane was rubbing his temples again. I thumped the bar in anger. Stop doing that!
Susu put another big bet in. The cards looked to be with her tonight. Zane rubbed his temples and folded. Jharek did the same. Bogface learned his lesson from the last round and folded. But Bark, who I said was as dumb as rocks, carried on playing. Susu seized the opportunity. She made giant bets on the turn and river card, both of which Bark met without thinking. He ended up going all in. He was either confident or stupid. And once Susu showed everyone she had a full house, we all knew it was the latter. All Bark was packing was a pair of tens. What a dumbass!
Oh well, it was one down at least. Bark stared at the upturned cards with his dumbo glare. “Uh?” he groaned as if he didn’t know what was going on. Maybe he couldn’t count. How the hell did he make it to the table anyhow? It would’ve taken a truckload of Ambrosia to get him there. Anyway, once the audience began giving him a round of applause and Frogface ushered him to leave the table, he got the message and hauled himself up from his seat. He stomped off the stage in a bewildered daze, what just happened obviously not yet sinking in. What a dummy. He vanished somewhere into the crowd and now it was down to four.
The game continued. Cards were dealt, the bets went in and Zane rubbed his temples again. Man, I swore if he did that one more time I was gonna go up there and throttle him. This time he began putting in bigger bets. He must’ve had a good hand and the others had nothing. I noticed his hand twitching as he pushed in his chips. Subtle, but noticeable. I smiled to myself. Good work, kid. Might make a player of you yet. He wanted them to think he was bluffing. He knew what they had and was just luring them in.
Bogface took the bait and met Zane’s bets. Jharek was too canny for this stuff. He folded. He was gonna be a tough nut to crack. We’d have to cross that bridge when we came to it. Susu weighed up her options. She’d just come off the back of two strong winning hands so could afford to call a bluff. Another good play from Zane. She met Zane’s bet, the euphoria of the last two hands probably clouding her judgement. Can’t let hubris overcome you in the middle of a game. It could kill you.
The cards were shown and with the two aces in the flop, Zane was packing four aces, while the other two had nothing near. A raucous round of applause went up as Zane hauled in his winnings, a big grin on his face. That was nicely played. I nodded my head in appreciation. Beyond him, Pegasus tried to get up on his hind legs again. Even he was rooting for Zane.
That last hand almost put Gash out the game. Susu was still in the lead, with Zane now second, and Jharek in third. Things were hotting up. Hopefully Bogface would be gone soon and that would leave just the three. The next round got underway and Zane took control of it, this time not giving off any signals, hoping to mess with their minds a little. Good play. The others all backed down and Zane comfortably won the hand. He was winning the psychological battle. They were wary of him. He was the dark stranger riding into town. And he’d be riding out of it on a flying horse.
A few more rounds went by with Zane exerting his dominance. He found himself locked in battle with Gash, who was down to nearly nothing. The way Zane was betting told me he knew he was beating Gash. In the end, Gash had nothing left to lose. He went all in with his small stack of chips. Zane was more than happy to meet his bet. The cards were shown and Zane romped home with a straight while Bogface had two pair. Zane leaned forward in his seat and stared at Gash with that big grin on his mug. Bogface slammed the baize with his fists, causing muck and bogslime to spray out, some of it hitting Zane right in the face.
I burst into laughter and slapped my thigh. I turned to the flying bartender. “Did you see that?”
The bartender sniggered. I turned back to see Zane just sitting there unflinching, that grin still on. He was trying to play it cool, but it was impossible with crap sprayed all over his face. He discreetly pulled a black handkerchief from his front pocket and mopped his face up. Gash rose from his chair with a squish and then squelched off the stage, leaving his boggy footprints behind. Good riddance. Excitement started to rise inside me. The plan was working. We were two players down. This was where it was gonna get interesting.
We got straight into the next round. Bets went in. The tension in the audience thickened. The ticks and clicks grew louder and more fervent. It was like being in a field full of grasshoppers on a summer evening. The players all watched one another with untrusting eyes, while Frogface’s bulbous eyes glared over everything. Aurora was still up there with them, guiding Zane.
Zane rubbed his temples again and inside me I vented hard. Zane put in a big bid and Jharek folded. Something I’d noticed was Jharek mirroring Zane. When Zane folded, Jharek folded. When Zane went in big, Jharek pulled out. When Zane didn’t play, Jharek more often than not did play. Jharek was taking his cue from Zane. Why was that? I knew that thanks to Aurora, Zane knew the cards. Did Jharek know that Zane knew the cards as well? How could he? I knew I needed to keep an eye on it.
Susu decided to play, matching Zane’s big bet. Zane kept giving off those signals again: twitches, sniffs. Indicators that he might be bluffing. Or not. Zane made more bets as the turn and river cards were shown. Susu matched all the way. Did she have a death wish?
Finally, the player’s cards were shown and Zane was victorious, getting over the line with a straight.
“Yes!” I said quietly to myself. That horse was gonna be ours!
Susu’s chips had been whittled down to a couple of small shrub-like towers, whereas Zane had an empire sitting ahead of him. Jharek st
ill had a healthy stack, so it looked like he and Zane were going to face off. Just as I suspected. The next hand got underway and this time Zane backed out, leaving the other two to duke it out. Sure, he didn’t need to enter into battle, let the other two go at one another. Smart move. Jharek took advantage of his chip superiority against Susu and went in big. Susu was onto a loser and she knew it. It was only a matter of time before she was taken out. In the end, she decided to go out in a blaze of glory. She went all in and flipped over her two cards. She was packing a pair of jacks. Not much to ride on. Jharek overturned his cards and he had a king and an eight. The flop was already a two, a four and an ace. The turn came in which was another two. Right then, Susu had two pair, and was in the lead, but once the river card was shown to be a king, Jharek got his two pair to match her, only his kings beat her jacks.
Susu bowed her head in defeat. She glanced over at Pegasus and gave him a small wave. Yeah, you kiss him goodbye! She left the stage to applause, almost slipping on one of Bogface’s footprints. I took a deep breath. This was it. The final two players. We were almost home and hosed. A couple of rounds and I was sure Zane would take this guy down. But, something at the back of my mind was eating away at me. For the whole game, Jharek had almost this sixth sense to copy Zane or play according to whatever Zane was doing. It just wouldn’t leave me alone.
I began wringing my hands in anticipation as the nymph dealt the cards. Electrified tension tremored through the crowd. This was what they’d been waiting for. The final showdown. There really was nothing like two card players facing off against one another. Especially when such a big prize was waiting to be won. Pegasus watched on from his cage with those sorrowful eyes. I hated the thought of Jharek taking him down to the Chicago Underworld. It made me sick. KO the bastard, Zane!
Zane rubbed his temples again and I swear I almost jumped out of my seat and ran down there to break him in two. I swiped an angry hand across the bar, grabbing hold of my sewage water drink. I took an absent swig and my eyes widened in horror once I realized what I’d done, but by then it was too late; I’d already swallowed the muck. I thought I was going to gag, but it was surprisingly nice; it tasted like coconut and vanilla. “Mmm,” I said in pleasant surprise and slammed my glass back down.