Deck of destiny 1, p.17
Deck of Destiny 1, page 17
The other Dragons were less interesting. They had the same kind of busted-up, asymmetrical streetwear that I’d seen amongst the others of their rank and file. Each of them had a hungry, lean look in their eyes, and they struck me more as muscle rather than the real deal. Each of them was a Player, and they’d cut their teeth on death, opportunistic kills, and battles on the streets of Millbank. Underestimating any of them was a bad idea.
Something about Daine at my back gave me a burst of confidence.
They couldn’t throw down here. Not unless I did or said something stupid to threaten the rules of the Game. I didn’t know my way around Guild politics, but I was pretty sure they couldn’t just bust into the Game’s equivalent of Switzerland and drag Mayce out by the hair.
They’d brought the Arbiter as an intimidation tactic, and the magical cop didn’t exactly look all that pleased to be here. I wasn’t even sure if the Arbiter had feelings, but if he did, maybe I could point out just how ridiculous the Dragons were being.
Maybe. I had to wait for the Dragons to show their hand first.
Then I could get around to fucking with them.
But I had to watch my step.
“Mayce, Mayce, Mayce,” the captain said. “Been looking all over for you.”
“This is a closed bar,” Daine growled from behind us.
The guy’s voice reminded me of an avalanche, and there was enough fury in it to send a fresh bolt of alarm down my spine. The animal part of my brain told me that I was pinned between a hammer and an anvil, and it couldn’t tell which was which. I suppressed the thought, met the Dragon captain’s eyes, and nodded toward the door.
Biker-Boy let out a sharp laugh of genuine amusement. “Thought the Castledaine was open to everyone and anyone, provided their intentions weren’t to start any fights.” He strolled a little closer, and his entourage hustled up behind him. “I didn’t come here to fight, Daine. I came here to claim what’s rightfully ours and right a wrong.”
“That a fact?” Daine said.
“It’s a fact,” the Dragon said.
“If you came in peace, Kyle, why’d you bring your goons?” Mayce replied.
The usual aggression and defiance had vanished from her tone, and her voice trembled as she tried to raise it. The sheer terror in her voice was enough to send a fresh bolt of fury into my gut, and I held up a hand as the Dragon started to get too close for comfort.
“That’s far enough,” I told him flatly.
Kyle the Dragon paused his stride. “Who the fuck are you again?”
“Potential headache,” I replied. “One you don’t want to get acquainted with.”
I kept my tone level and didn’t look away from him. The best way to threaten people wasn’t to scream, bluster, or try and intimidate them. It was all in the delivery. Kyle had probably heard plenty of threats in his life. Some good, some bad. Something in my voice made him hesitate. I was a shirtless guy sporting a pack of new scars with a mercenary captain at my back. Kyle couldn’t just use magic here to get his way, and he knew it.
My threat hit hard enough to make him think about violating my space.
“I’ve had plenty of headaches before,” Kyle replied. “What makes you different?”
“Call off your boys, and we’ll talk about it,” I suggested. “Unless you need them to feel like you’ve got the upper hand?”
The shot to his pride almost made his beard bristle.
“Boss,” one of the Dragons warned.
“Wait outside,” Kyle told them. “Keep an eye on the door.”
“He’s gaming you,” another snapped. “Let’s just take the bitch and be done with it.”
The Arbiter cleared his throat pointedly, and the instigator clenched his jaw shut. A long pause hung in the air, and the Dragon lackeys retreated from the bar. The door swung shut behind them and left us alone with Kyle and the Arbiter.
Advantage, Team Castledaine.
Kyle looked past me, gave Elsie a cursory glance, and then his cold eyes landed on Daine.
“You know why I’m here,” Kyle said.
“Trying to piss me off?” Daine asked.
Kyle leveled a finger at Mayce. “She’s one of ours. And she broke the fucking rules of the Game. Leviathans called it in. Said there was an unprovoked attack on one of their captains by one of our foot soldiers.”
“I didn’t–” Mayce began.
Elsie laid a hand on her arm and gave her a pointed look.
She subsided a second later, and Daine’s eyes turned to the Arbiter.
“Is she considered one of the Dragon Guild after fleeing?” Daine asked.
The white-cloaked cop gave him a blank look. “She still wears the Guild markings. Irrespective of her current loyalties, she signed a Contract.” Something in his tone capitalized the word ‘Contract’, and I felt as if someone had just stabbed me in the gut. “Violating those terms carries heavy penalties. As per the Guild’s charter, insubordination and attempted flight demand the removal of their markings as a minimum. Failure to comply leads to heavier penalties.”
Kyle grinned at Daine. “As I said, she’s broken the rules.”
“You wanted to cut my arm off!” Mayce protested.
“You signed up,” the Dragon countered. “You know what comes with it.”
“Tell me more about the Leviathan’s demands,” Daine cut in. “What do they want?”
“Is it really any of your business, coward?” Kyle fired back. “You can sit here and pretend you’re out of the Game all you like. Don’t go crying uncle when one of your new pets has to buck up and face the consequences of her actions.”
“You can’t just take the loss and call it a day?” I asked.
Kyle turned to look at me. “Fucking hell, where do you find these kids?”
“Answer the question,” I said. “Don’t think too hard and hurt yourself, though.”
“You join, you’re in for life. Those are the rules,” Kyle told me. “Wouldn’t expect a green fish like you to fucking get it. You’re too busy over here with Daine’s dick down your—”
“Is that what the Contract states?” I interrupted and glanced at the Arbiter.
The cop half-closed his eyes for a second as if calling up the paperwork from memory.
“Dragon Guild membership is to be honored through commitment to the cause,” the Arbiter rattled off. “Cards are to be openly known amongst the Guild. Those within the Guild are not to attack their fellow Guild members, under pain of trial and execution. Any attempt to leave must be arbitrated through the head of the Guild and appropriate reasons given.” The Arbiter opened his eyes again. “The Dragons’ desires are clear. Her Contract must be honored.”
“Why are you here, exactly?” Elsie asked him.
“Violence has been offered directly from one Guild to another,” the Arbiter replied. “Open actions like this have a strong potential to violate the sanctity of the game and open up the field to active warfare between Guilds. Mayce Rose Nguyen is obliged to return to her Guild for discipline and honor her Contract.”
“You happy now?” Kyle asked me.
“Longer you stand there, the less happy I get,” I replied. “Okay, Mr. Encyclopedia, talk to me about arbitration from within the Guilds. What systems do the Dragons have within their Contracts to allow for recompense? Can we cut a deal that means Mayce gets to leave clean?”
Kyle barked another laugh. “You’re cute, you really are.”
“Least I don’t look like I jerk off the Walking Dead,” I fired back.
His eyes bulged, and the Arbiter spoke up before he could rally a reply.
“The Dragon Guild has no such stipulations,” the Arbiter intoned.
Kyle’s face lit up with triumph.
“However, matters such as these are relatively unprecedented,” the Arbiter continued. “Guild-to-Guild violence is no small matter. Are you claiming responsibility for her action?”
“I am,” I replied.
Mayce made a choking sound behind me that sounded almost like a gasp.
“My idea, my operation, my design,” I said.
“You are no Guild member,” the Arbiter observed.
“Not yet,” I agreed.
The magical cop actually frowned for a moment. “Are you offering yourself in her place? To take on her punishment and potential execution?”
“Nothing so drastic,” I replied. “I’m willing to offer the Dragon Guild an equal and fair favor, in return for releasing Mayce and clearing her of any wrongdoing. This was not an action undertaken from the Dragon Guild authority. It was mine. The Leviathans know as much. They’re no more willing to go into open war than the Dragons are.”
“You don’t know that,” Kyle snarled.
The Arbiter turned to look at him with interest. “You speak for the Dragon Guild?”
Kyle suddenly looked as if he’d gotten kicked in the balls. “I don’t. I’m here to pick up the girl, nothing more. That was my direction. I don’t know what my boss is planning.”
I forced myself to slow down. I had the upper hand so far, and the Arbiter hadn’t shot down my suggestion just yet. I used Kyle’s second of scrambling to rack my brain for new ammunition. We’d taken out a trio of Dragons. I’d taken their Card, and they must’ve been pissed about it. A grin suddenly touched my face when I recalled the first time I’d seen the Arbiters.
“I have my own grievance with the Dragon Guild,” I said. “It doesn’t factor into Mayce’s actions, but it was definitely one of the contributing factors to her attack on Wilson. And it was one of the things that pushed me toward his business in the first place.”
The Arbiter’s gaze came to rest on me. “Of what do you speak?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” I replied. “The invasion of Mr. Saengthong’s property and my own personal residence. You were there to investigate. A skirmish with the Dragons drew them to openly attack the sanctity of the Game.”
Kyle’s eyes widened, and he took a short step backward. He had the sense to keep his mouth shut, but the movement alone was enough to tell me that the Dragons had been responsible. Hell, the guy had probably even led the raid on my apartment. The Arbiter didn’t miss Kyle’s reaction, and he pursed his lips. Daine’s rumbling chuckle broke the silence, and I stared Kyle down as he tried to put a reply together.
I had the motherfucker dead to rights.
“There are no Contracts or protections afforded to Players without a Guild,” the Arbiter told me. “You do, however, place yourself in a more justifiable position.”
“This has nothing to do with him,” Kyle snapped.
“But he has claimed responsibility for the attack,” the Arbiter pointed out. “And if your earlier statement is to be believed, you have no understanding of your own Guild’s intentions toward the Leviathans. Mayce Rose Nguyen has not yet spoken for herself. What say you?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the newest member of my little team. She stared at me, open-mouthed, and I shot her a wink. Elsie’s hand tightened on her arm, and Daine leaned forward over the bar. He murmured something in her ear, and Mayce’s face suddenly washed over with a blend of relief and frustration.
“My actions—” Mayce cleared her throat. “My actions were not meant as an attack against the Leviathans. I undertook them in order to honor a Contract between Daine and Matt. I don’t want war, and it wasn’t my intention to start a fight.”
“A Contract?” the Arbiter asked.
Daine nodded. “A deal made between Players. You understand the nature of my business, Arbiter. We don’t like each other, but I honor my word to those who seek employment and opportunity. Unlike some”—he gave Kyle a pointed look—“I don’t see the need to waste your time and energy over small details like this.”
“This doesn’t change anything,” Kyle protested.
“Two Contracts are in tension,” the Arbiter replied. “Not an unprecedented situation but a rare one. Given the nature of Matthew Surrey’s grievance, and the threat offered to the sanctity of the Game through the attack on his apartment, we are willing to offer him an opportunity to right this wrong.”
“You can’t be fucking serious,” the Dragon snarled.
The Arbiter met his gaze with a cool look. “Profanity is uncouth. Refrain from its use.”
Kyle grimaced and glared back at me through a hate-filled mask.
“It was you,” he said. “You’re the one who took the Card.”
I shrugged. “Your people came after me first. I was defending myself.”
Kyle’s face twisted into a smirk as a thought occurred to him.
“Such negotiations should be carried out from within the Guild headquarters,” he said. “As the aggrieved party who brought this to the Arbiter’s attention…”
“That is your right,” the Arbiter confirmed. “Matthew Surrey?”
I didn’t like any of this. I hadn’t counted on Mayce’s Guild affiliation to come back and bite me this hard in the ass. She hadn’t told me about the potential consequences of going after Wilson. The girl was scared shitless, and she’d been living on the street in fear for long enough. She’d saved our ass, and Elsie and I owed her for that surprise attack on Wilson. We’d gotten our safety net, and part of me wanted to coast along inside it for as long as I could.
The other part knew that I had to nip this shit in the bud.
The sooner I knew what the Dragons wanted and found some way to bail Mayce out of her situation, the better I’d sleep. I’d just shrugged off multiple rounds, a Pit fight, and gained a pile of new Cards that I couldn’t use. I knew Daine had answers to some of my questions, but I’d gotten a lot of new insights just from watching Kyle try to strongarm Mayce into coming back to the Guild with him.
Knowing your enemy was an advantage.
And we needed every advantage we could get.
“I’m willing,” I said, “but with a condition.”
“No conditions,” Kyle fired back. “You’re the one in the wrong here, you dick—”
“Do I need to get out my swear jar?” Daine asked lightly.
“What is your condition?” the Arbiter asked.
“Guessing you’ve got a lot on your plate,” I told him. “I’m looking for a Contract that guarantees safe passage. No attacks on me for the duration of my time in the Dragon Guild lair. I’m coming there to settle this, not to fight. I’m going alone. Mayce is my responsibility, and any penalties the Dragons want to levy, they can levy against me.”
Kyle’s face hardened into granite. “I can’t guarantee that.”
“It is not an unreasonable request,” the Arbiter warned him.
“You here to deal in good faith, Kyle?” I asked. “Or do you just want to rip me to shreds the second you know you can? Throw me a bone here. I’m trying my best to keep all this above board.”
I shot him a wink.
The guy looked like his capillaries were about to explode.
“I’ll need to consult with the head of my Guild,” Kyle said quietly.
“Then this meeting is adjourned,” the Arbiter said.
He turned on his heel and started toward the front door. Kyle stayed rooted in place as he death-stared me for a long moment, and I heard Elsie giggle a little behind me. Mayce stepped into my field of view and flipped him off.
“Your new boyfriend won’t save you from this,” Kyle told her.
Elsie just giggled harder. “Maybe you shouldn’t have skipped school so much.”
Daine’s earthy chuckle rolled out from behind the bar. “Word of warning, Dragon. You bring your people in here again when I’m closed, and I’ll have Sharks biting at your heels every time you show your face outside of your little nightclub.”
“I’m not fucking scared of you,” Kyle growled.
“You want to start a beef,” I told him, “maybe don’t bring the schoolteacher into it next time. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
The guy hesitated for a long second. I’d dismantled him in front of everyone, including the Game Masters, and he had nothing left to stand on. I’d been willing to go with the guy, but he didn’t even have enough clout to forge a Contract. I grinned at him and nodded to the door.
“Don’t take too long,” I told him. “Don’t want your boss getting his panties in a twist.”
The Dragon retreated from the pub with a venomous look on his face.
I turned back to the bar with a face-splitting grin. “Daine, fresh round of shots.”
Chapter 18
The high of victory rolled through my body like an avalanche as I returned to the bar with Daine and Elsie. I knocked back a brain-melting vodka, ordered another beer, and let the sheer elation slide through me. I knew it was temporary and that the Dragons would be back to collect their pound of flesh. Mayce stared at me as she accepted another whisky from Daine and shook her head to herself.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said quietly.
“The hell I didn’t,” I replied. “We’re a team. You came with us because you wanted safety. I don’t know how much bullshit I just managed to sling—”
“Haven’t seen anything like it for a while.” Daine chuckled.
“—but they don’t just get to kick the door down and take what they want,” I finished.
Mayce swirled her whisky around in her glass. “I just…”
She shook her head again. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone stick up for me like that before. Dragons never did, and I can’t say that my parents were much fucking better.”
Elsie sipped her bourbon. “Rough family life?”
“Not ideal,” Mayce replied, her tone guarded.
I nudged her knee with mine. “Lighten up. We’ll get through this.”
“You’ve just started a war. You know that, right?”
“What was that we were saying about fuck the Guilds?” I asked her lightly.
A fierce flash of defiance glowed up in her eyes. “You’ve got a point.”
