Chapter One
“Stop right there!”
Charm Barra sighed when she heard the order being shouted across the main floor of the casino. The noise coming from the various machines, as well as the sound of voices and laughter, nearly drowned out the security officer’s command, but there was no mistaking who it had been directed at. The Reema male running toward one of the exits clutching a bunch of chips was a dead giveaway.
To be fair, he really wasn’t running. It was more of a drunken stumble. Obviously, liquid courage had goaded him into doing something monumentally stupid.
Unfortunately for him, escape was impossible.
A few seconds later, she was proven correct when the Reema was tackled to the ground by another security officer. The stash he’d been holding went flying through the air, and a crowd of people scrambled to collect the fallen chips. The security officer who made the tackle easily rolled back onto her feet, then she stepped on the Reema’s back to hold him in place on the floor while more officers raced over to help clear the crowd away.
As the fallen man struggled to free himself and screamed to be released, Charm noticed that his words were slurred. Drunk people could do totally stupid shit sometimes, which made them a pain in the ass to deal with.
That didn’t excuse his behavior, though.
The commotion had caused more people to gather around. Some of the officers tussled with those who had grabbed the fallen chips, while the rest of the crowd simply watched the chaos with glee.
Everyone fucking loved a good spectacle.
From her seat in the small lounge on the balcony of the second level, Charm ignored the fiasco below, sure that it was being handled by the security team. The drunk hadn’t gotten more than a few feet before he’d been taken down. And if the dumb fuck had actually made it to the exit, there were thick metal gates that could be lowered at each of the entrances that would have trapped him inside.
Even though the matter with the Reema had been easily handled, something about it didn’t feel right. Call it intuition or instinct, but either way, something felt off. Over the years, she had learned to trust her instincts no matter how strange or unexplainable the feelings might seem at the time. In this case, the Reema causing the loud disturbance was too obvious, which meant it could merely be a distraction to cover up another crime in progress.
Now, she had to figure out what was really going on.
The casino was a barrage to the senses, but she had learned how to block out most of the noise and bright colors. The patterned purple, green, and black carpet had a hypnotic effect if one stared at it for too long, and the silver and gold accents reflected the bright lights that never dimmed.
It was a chaotic space, yet it represented the whimsical theme of Wonderland perfectly.
Since Wonderland was the most popular entertainment destination on Evo, the casino was constantly filled with people. Besides a casino, there was also a large nightclub and a variety of bars and restaurants located on the property. However, the most essential aspect of the newly made kingdom was its status as a sanctuary.
That meant they lived by their own set of rules.
Despite being a hedonistic paradise of vice, the casino at Wonderland was still considered part of the sanctuary. That meant sanctuary regulations applied. It was hard enough to steal in a regular casino, but trying in a magically protected one was absolute lunacy. Most people were smart enough not to even attempt it.
However, greed was a powerful motivator.
Self-governed and autonomous, Wonderland was its own little kingdom. That meant punishments handed out within the casino were determined by the sanctuary staff. If they wanted, they could simply make someone disappear, though that type of punishment was reserved only for the worst offenders.
If someone came to the sanctuary planning on harming someone, the consequences were dire and swift. They were a little more circumspect when it came to dealing with the greedy little fucks who tried to cause problems. Since death and dismemberment seemed slightly extreme for dealing with thieves, they had to think of other ways to punish them. A good brawl was always an option, but there were other ways to make examples of them.
Her eyes narrowed when she finally found what she had been looking for. Tapping the side of the glasses she wore, she activated the comms system. While she refused to get the nano-tech tattoos that would directly connect her to the supercomputer that ran everything on Evo, she wore a pair of glasses that allowed her to have constant access to the system.
The glasses acted as her comms unit and a portable viewing screen. Most of the time, she kept the rectangle lenses tinted a light purple, but she could change it to any shade that she wanted. The glasses were one of her favorite inventions the Artane brothers had created, which was why she had several pairs as backups.
“Evo, do you see the human wearing the blue hoodie sitting at the galactic slot machines? I noticed his machine hit a win, but the alarm wasn’t triggered. Can you tell what is going on?”
“Scanning now, Alpha Barra.” There was a long pause before Evo said, “He has a device in his possession that seems to trigger a win on a machine without setting off the alarm and lights. The alarm is what notifies the security system if a machine had been tampered with or is paying out too often. The device is not something we have on file, so I cannot tell you exactly what it can do. Once you confiscate it, I will run a full analysis.”
“You’re mad it got past your initial scans,” she teased.
“Damn right, I am.”
Charm chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll punish him for you.”
“Thank you, Alpha Barra,” Evo responded primly.
“Make sure you keep recording the bastard. I want enough evidence to bury him.”
“I would be delighted to help you bury the bastard.”
She really did get a kick out of the AI system having such a fun personality. Of course, that was partly due to the Artane brothers and their mate, who had all had a hand in programming Evo to be that way. Still, with the way it adapted and learned, it actually did feel like she was speaking to a real person instead of a computer system most of the time.
“Evo, now that you know what to look for, can you run a scan to see if anyone else in the casino is using the same device?”
“ Of course, Alpha Barra.”
If the device had gotten past Evo’s scans, that meant it was new. If it was homemade, catching the thief would put an end to the problem. But if the device was something a few people were using, it could potentially be manufactured on a larger scale. If that were the case, they would be finding more people trying to use it in Wonderland.
And not just there.
While it pissed her off, it wasn’t the first time someone had tried to trick the security system since they had opened, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Cheating was common in any casino. At least, attempting to was. People were always coming up with new ways to try to get rich quick, and the staff had to constantly be on guard for new tech. Since they often shared information with other casinos as a courtesy, she would have to spread the word about the new device once they thoroughly analyzed it.
The galactic slot machines had some of the biggest payouts in that section of the casino. It was reasonable to assume the human had paid the Reema to create a distraction so he could steal from the slot machines across the room without anyone focusing on what he was doing.
A classic misdirect.
Players within the casino were given metal bracelets that carried their credit balance. When the bracelets were scanned at the machines or tables, credits could be used or added to the balance. Once they were done gambling, a player would scan the bracelets at one of the bank stations and exchange the balance for actual credits or transfer the amount to their own personal account.
The system had been introduced at the casino on New Vega back when it had first been established and was now standard at most places. While chips were still used at the tables, the bracelets made playing easier and more secure. However, no matter how many safeguards were put in place, people kept trying to figure out how to cheat and steal.
Running a casino wasn’t easy, but since it had been her idea to build one at Wonderland, she couldn’t really complain too much. While the Krytos operated many different sanctuaries throughout the known universe, each of them was independently controlled. Some had casinos on the premises, while others focused on other forms of entertainment.
No matter what, the foundation of all sanctuaries was the same.
They were a safe haven for people in trouble.
When the Artane brothers had offered the Barra siblings the opportunity to create a sanctuary on the new planetoid they had purchased, Charm and her brothers had been delighted by the prospect. Well, that was partially true. She and her oldest brother, Raek, had been all for it, but their brother, Fenris, had taken some convincing before he had completely jumped on board.
As a famous tattoo artist, Fenris had enjoyed the freedom of traveling and working in a variety of shops. He’d never wanted the responsibility of running his own tattoo parlor, so the idea of owning and operating a sanctuary was a big change.
Back on Earth, Raek had been a celebrated chef who had been given free rein at the restaurant he had worked at. While he had been excited about running a new sanctuary, he didn’t exactly have much experience.
That’s where Charm came in.
When she had aged out of the group home she and her adopted brothers had grown up in, she had gone to work at Haven, the female-run sanctuary located in Jade City. She’d always had a dream of opening her own sanctuary, but she knew she needed experience to do so.
Working at Haven had allowed her to learn all the aspects of operating a sanctuary. It also helped her realize she had an aptitude for management. Not only was she super organized and good at multi-tasking, she had an eye for details and that natural instinct that kicked in when something was wrong.
Charm enjoyed the excitement and fun of working in a sanctuary. But more than that, she loved providing a safe environment for people who needed it.
No matter how much hard work went into running such a large-scale operation, she was all for it. She thrived in the chaos of trying to control the uncontrollable and enjoyed the challenge that came with handling the unexpected.
However, she was less thrilled about living on a planetoid that had been turned into a live-action version of a video game.
When the Artane brothers had designed Evolution, she had thought the new video game was just another one of their ingenious creations. Hearing they bought a planetoid for the purpose of bringing that video game to life hadn’t surprised her. Despite it being a new level of crazy, the Artane brothers always pushed the boundaries of what was imaginable.
Because of that, she had never doubted they would accomplish it.
Even though Evo was still in the beta testing phase, the new gaming world was already considered a resounding success.
The planetoid was comprised of dozens of islands that had been altered to represent various settings and stages from the Evolution game and a vibrant blue sea that was home to some deadly creatures. The entire planetoid was run by a mix of technology and magic, and while there were several sites that sounded intriguing, Charm hated to admit that she had been putting off visiting the other islands.
She wasn’t really a gamer. At least, not an avid one. She definitely enjoyed a good battle, but she wasn’t too keen on fighting zombies or alien bugs with acid venom. Nor did she want to traverse through a frozen tundra to reach an ice palace or take a trip to hell to compete in whatever sadistic game was being played there.
While some of the other islands were set up as strictly leisure destinations, that didn’t mean they were completely safe. With some of the crazy shit that had been happening recently, even idyllic places could turn into battle zones.
Until some of the beta testing kinks were fixed, Charm would rather focus on running Wonderland. Besides, she had everything she could ever want right there on the property, so there was no need to go anywhere else.
If that narrowed her world a little, so be it.
She could live with that…for now.
All things considered, she was too damn busy with work to even consider taking time off to play games anyway. But that didn’t mean she was missing out on having fun. While most of the sanctuary was running smoothly and stayed pretty quiet, there was always something going on inside the casino.
Like the current situation unfolding on the main floor.
The Reema male was being escorted to the security center for questioning, and the security officers had collected the stolen chips. But no one else had caught on that there was another perpetrator on the premises.
“What are you still doing here?”
She didn’t bother glancing over as her friend, Gia G’Lan, took a seat at the small table. She and Gia had met while they had both been working at Haven, the female-only sanctuary in Jade City, and they had become fast friends. She admired the older female, and she had learned a lot from training and sparring with her.
As a former commander of the D’Aire Army during the war with the Zyphir, Gia had experienced her share of bloodshed and pain. That was partly why she enjoyed helping to preserve the safety of others. She was a fierce defender of the weak, which made her a perfect addition to the sanctuary. She was also unusually outspoken for a D’Aire and had a wry wit and vicious temper when riled, which made her fit in with the mostly Krytos staff.
Last year, Gia had met the keeper of her heart while she had been transporting some of the female guests to another sanctuary. The big, burly Krytos named Ruckus was the perfect match for Gia in every way. The owner of Haven had been willing to make an exception to let the mated couple stay, but they had decided it was better to leave and preserve the status of the all-female sanctuary.
It had pained her when Gia and Ruckus had left the sanctuary, but Charm had understood why they had made that choice. They had done so for the greater good. It had also given them time to travel and simply enjoy being together. Although, she knew Gia wouldn’t like being idle for long.
When the opportunity to open Wonderland had fallen into her lap, Gia had been the first person Charm had contacted about joining the staff. Thankfully, Gia and Ruckus had both loved the idea of moving to Evo and helping manage the new sanctuary.
Since Ruckus had been a supervisor at the casino on New Vega, he had been a huge help setting things up and managing the one at Wonderland. While Raek and Fenris helped out wherever they were needed, Gia was Charm’s main assistant with the overall management of the sanctuary, while Ruckus took the lead in the casino.
“We’ve got a situ,” Charm said. “See the asshole wearing the blue hoodie at the galactic slot?”
“What about him?”
“He’s got a device on him that is allowing him to bypass the machine’s alarm.”
“Shit. Why is he still breathing?”
She finally glanced over at her friend and grinned in greeting. While Charm was wearing her standard uniform of a black leather vest and pants, Gia had on a bold blue skinsuit with matching knee-high boots that added a few inches to her already impressive height. She was also wearing blue-tinted glasses that were similar to the pair Charm was wearing, though hers had larger oval lenses.
The D’Aire had recently cut her hair so the sides were shaved and the snowy white strands on top were swept back. It was an edgy look that suited her well, and it made Charm consider changing up her own look. She usually pulled her long black hair back into a boring braid, but she was getting tired of doing the same damn thing every day.
Realizing her mind had begun to wander, she shook her head a little to bring herself back to the moment. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten more than a couple of hours of sleep. Perhaps that was starting to take a toll on her.
“You want me to go take care of it?” Gia asked hopefully.
“Not yet. Evo is scanning to see if anyone else is using a similar device. I’m pretty sure blue hoodie paid off that Reema who was just escorted off the floor.”
“The one who tossed the chips? Yeah, I thought that was sus. I mean, who thinks they can grab a tray of chips off a table and make it to the exit before they get clobbered?”
“A very drunk one?”
Gia scoffed. “Even so, it was too obvious.”
“I thought the same, but it’s happened before. Still, Evo is scanning to see if anyone else here is carrying the same device.”
“Good idea.”
“Evo, show me the information you have on the blue hoodie guy. Display the data for Gia as well,” Charm added after her friend pointed to herself.
The information she had asked for immediately appeared on the lenses of her glasses. Since Evo was a computer system, there was no problem multitasking. It could speak to several people while working on dozens of other difficult assignments at the same time without any hitches. That was an advantage of the adaptive AI system, but sometimes it was easy to forget since Evo sounded like a human with a distinctive personality.
Charm began to read the information that had been provided on her display. “Arnold Meeks, you little bastard.”
Evo chimed in and started reciting some of the salient data. “He is currently a content creator who mostly focuses on playing games and doing reviews since he retired from his e-sports team. He makes a decent amount of credits doing so, but he also comes from a wealthy family. Notable mentions in his files from the Alliance Academy include several fights and two cheating inquiries. Those instances were dropped due to lack of evidence.”
“Fucking family connections got him out of shit,” Charm growled, irritated by the very notion. “So, he is used to cheating and getting away with it.”
“But I don’t think he is smart enough to make the device himself. He has to be working with someone else besides the Reema,” Gia spat out in disgust.
“There is another individual using the same device on the third level,” Evo announced. “Flight records show the man’s name is Daniel Tan, but there is no other information about him on file. Location on screen now.”
The individual’s location was highlighted on the detailed map displayed on one of the lenses of her glasses. A video was playing on the other lens, showing a male wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his face who was sitting at a high-value poker machine on the third level.
“Oh, this is going to be fun…” Charm murmured gleefully.
“I want to have fun, too,” Gia said. “So does Ruckus. He’s been itching for some action lately.”
Same, Charm thought wryly. “But I—”
“You are supposed to be heading to the lake for the Festival of Lights soon,” Gia reminded. “So, you don’t have time to take down a group of criminals by yourself. Share the funsies, Alpha. We don’t get organized thieves in here every day. Besides, you need to learn how to delegate more.”
Charm chuckled at that. “True enough.” She was stubborn, not stupid. “Tell Ruckus to move in from the—”
“Already done,” Gia said smugly. “He’s on his way now.”
Of course, she already reached out to her mate through their telepathic bond. Gia was sly like that, anticipating what Charm might need before she asked. That’s why Charm loved and valued her so much.
“Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to try out the new cages.”
Her declaration made Charm glance up at the large birdcages hanging from the various balconies throughout the casino. The cages were made of indestructible black metal and were decorated with metal vines that wrapped around the bars. The design was similar to the balconies that could be found on the exterior of the castle. They might have seemed like decorative pieces that went with the whimsical theme of the sanctuary, but they had a legitimate purpose for being there.
The cages had been made by Jecca and Jaya Tesera, two Dragon Warriors who had recently visited Evo. After Charm had asked their advice on new forms of punishment to deal with people trying to cheat in the casino, the Dragon Warriors had gifted her the cages. Each enclosure was big enough to fit a large person inside of it, and once someone was locked in, the psychological torment would begin.
The magical prison would temporarily alter a person’s perception of time. An hour would seem like days, making it an interesting torture device without doing much actual harm. Then again, being locked in a cage and being put on display was pretty cruel. She hoped the public humiliation would serve as a preventative measure to stop others before they attempted something stupid.
Charm had been dying to try out the cages, but they hadn’t had any offenders over the last few weeks to warrant it.
She grinned. “I think you’re right.”
Glancing at the time stamp displayed on her glasses, she realized she might miss the fireworks if she didn’t leave soon. Still, she didn’t feel comfortable leaving while this situation was unfolding.
She stood up and prepared to head downstair when she noticed Ruckus stalking across the main floor with a few other security officers. As he headed toward the stairs leading up to the next level, the other officers crossed the main floor. Before they could reach their targets, Arnold Meeks and Daniel Tan suddenly got up and quickly walked away from the machines they’d been playing.
“Fuck, they must have a lookout,” Gia hissed.
Charm agreed as she caught sight of a human female hurrying toward the exit. “Evo, I need info on the blonde woman wearing the black cap, gray sweater, and black leggings heading toward the north exit.”
“The identity of the female cannot be confirmed using facial recognition. Tracing her back through the security feed footage now.” There was a long pause, then Evo said, “The female is Carla Wexler. She is currently wearing some sort of facial film to block ID scans, but she wasn’t wearing it when she arrived on a private shuttle with Arnold Meeks.”
“Wait, I know that name. Carla Wexler, as in Wexler Technology?” Charm asked sharply.
“That is correct, Alpha Barra.”
“Fucking hell. The Artanes hate them with the fucking heat to rival the sun.”
Well, now they knew where the thieves had gotten the damn devices.
As the security officers gave chase, a bunch of slot machines suddenly went off at once. People screamed and shouted as they began to celebrate, even though they hadn’t actually won. It wasn’t their fault since they were oblivious to what had really happened. In the ensuing chaos, the crowd obscured Charm’s view of Arnold.
But she still had a clear line of sight on Carla.
“I’ve got Wexler,” she growled.
“I’ll find Daniel Tan,” Gia promised.
They tapped fists before the D’Aire released her majestic white wings from her back and shot up into the air. Some of the people below gasped in delight as she took flight and soared up toward the third level to join in the chase.
Charm considered taking the stairs down, then decided to go for the faster route. Bracing her hands on the railing, she launched herself over it and dropped down to the main level. People screamed as she landed on top of one of the poker tables in a crouch, but most of the shouting stopped when they realized who she was.
Ignoring them, she jumped off the table and chased after her target. She was almost within range to reach out and grab Carla when the human spun around and swiped out with the knife she’d been hiding from view. Charm let out a hiss of pain as she raised her arm to block the blade. Thankfully, the cut on her forearm wasn’t that bad, but it was enough to fuel her rage.
Launching a spinning kick at the female, she knocked the blade out of Carla’s hand. Then, she followed up with a couple of brutal punches and an uppercut that knocked her right off her feet and into a dead faint.
Served the bitch right for pulling a knife on her.
Charm huffed out an irritated breath as she glanced down to study her injury. The cut was half the length of her forearm and extended down the side of her hand near her pinkie. It was a little deeper than she originally thought and had started throbbing with pain, but as she stared down at the female passed out on the floor, she had to grin.
She might be bleeding, but she’d still had fun.