Chapter 14 #2
Kill you.
Rip your face off.
Break those fingers of yours one by one.
She opened her mouth to speak.
“Ah, you’ve already gathered. Wonderful.” Misterioso appeared between Lo and Rodrigo, breaking them up. Lo hadn’t even heard the elevator ding. “Ready or not, it’s time for the next round.”
Rodrigo rudely winked at Lo. She stared back at him. Slowly, she smiled—an expression that sent her message to him loud and clear. If you try anything, I will kill you.
The look seemed to catch him off guard. He startled. Satisfied, Lo took her seat.
The Banker took his spot at the center of the table. It seemed to be his turn to deal. His icy blue eyes honed in on Lo. “Did you enjoy your meal?”
He was messing with her.
“I did, actually.” She rested her chin in her hands. “Thank you.”
What other secrets did he carry with him? Lo would have to find out, but for now, she needed to focus on getting through this round.
“Let us begin!” Misterioso exclaimed. “This round will last only for five turns. You will be able to choose what you wager.”
Underneath the table, Lo snatched Mayté’s hand.
It had worked. They had bent the house to their will.
She did her best to keep a straight face.
Everyone else around the table seemed equal parts pleased and relieved.
Lo glanced at the Banker. He raised an eyebrow and locked eyes with her.
He looked perplexed. Lo simply smiled at him, silently scolding him for underestimating her.
“We ended off the last round with María Teresa getting the first lotería of the game,” Misterioso explained.
“Every time a player fills their board enough for a lotería, they may draw a special card. These cards do not pose a challenge or need a wager from you, but instead can be to your benefit. They can be used at any time. Anyone who has that card on their board may place a bean down as soon as the card is revealed. Please choose a card, María Teresa.”
The cards floated in front of the Banker face down. Mayté reached out, but then hesitated and studied the cards.
Lo prayed. Please let her pick a good card.
After what felt like an eternity, Mayté pressed her finger against one of the cards. It flipped over, revealing a silver shield. El Escudo. The card floated to Mayté’s hand. She grinned.
“Once activated, this card will defend the user from harm, or protect them from performing a challenge, one time,” Misterioso said.
Perfect! Lo thought. Having this in her back pocket was wonderful.
The Banker drew the first card. “El Cazo.” The card was simply a cooking pot.
Soft clangs filled the air, followed by the scent of savory meats sizzling over chiles and other bold spices.
It brought back memories of when she had been a child—sometimes she would sneak into the kitchen and watch the servants bustle around as they prepared dinner.
She and several others put down a bean. The next couple of cards were similarly surreal, yet ultimately uneventful.
El Gallo brought about the crow of a rooster while El Conquistador summoned war cries, the clanging of swords, and screams of the innocent.
Lo stole a glance at Don Zelaya, who looked around without even an ounce of remorse or guilt about his ancestors.
Lo’s board began to fill up nicely. So far, so good. Only two more turns left.
She snuck a peek at Mayté’s board. Only two more beans and she would get another lotería. La Sirena, the mermaid, was one of the cards Mayté needed.
Draw La Sirena next. Lo dug her fingers into the frills on her gown.
“La Sirena.”
Lo’s eyes snapped open. Amazing! It had worked again!
The Banker stared straight at her as he held up a familiar card with a mermaid. But this time the card glowed.
“Oh no,” someone whispered.
The vaquero, Rodrigo, whistled. “This should be good.”
Lo braced herself for what was to come.
A mermaid crawled out of the card. Her sopping black hair flopped over her bare chest. Her long red tail writhed behind her.
Lo wasn’t sure if it was breathtaking or grotesque.
La Sirena had a beautiful face. Sparkling blue eyes and full red lips accented by the peachy undertones of her skin.
But Lo couldn’t tell if those lips of hers were upturned in playful mischief or pure malice.
“Unlike other special cards which present a challenge, La Sirena will simply predict the future of a chosen player. Whether that player heeds the prediction as fact or treats it as fiction is up to them. Now let’s see who she will choose.” There was a sinister note in Misterioso’s delighted tone.
“You.” La Sirena pointed a long red nail at Mayté.
It was fitting. Mayté had brought the painting of La Sirena as her prized possession. Lo held her breath.
Mayté lifted her chin and sat up straighter. To anyone else, she looked confident, but Lo saw the way she fiddled with a bean as her thick eyebrows twitched.
“María Teresa Robles,” La Sirena drawled, half speaking, half singing. The sound was both enthralling and haunting. Everyone at the table fell silent. Even Rodrigo kept his nasty mouth shut. Lo’s heart pounded harder. What would she say? Could she possibly predict if Mayté would win?
Or die?
“Before your time here ends,” La Sirena’s voice rose, “your heart shall be torn in two.”
Mayté jolted. “Wh—! By who?”
With a smirk, La Sirena simply put a finger to her lips and vanished.
“Unfortunately, La Sirena finds it pleasing to be vague,” Misterioso said. “But a broken heart, hmm? Isn’t that rather intriguing?”
“Ah, young love,” Don Zelaya scoffed and Xiomara snickered. All the while, Mayté stared straight ahead, face clearly distressed.
Who would dare break her heart? The thought made Lo furious.
Could it be Alejandro? Maybe she shouldn’t have pushed Mayté to flirt with him …
“And be sure to put down a bean if La Sirena is on your board,” Misterioso reminded them with a chuckle.
“Oh.” Mayté set a bean down.
“Lotería!” Rodrigo leaned back in his chair, arms folded and smug.
What? No! Under the table, Lo grabbed bunches of her gown and squeezed as tightly as she could. It was the only thing she could do to hold back the anger bubbling inside her. The Banker caught her eye again. This time, he raised an eyebrow as if to say I told you so.
Everything comes at a price.
The Banker turned away and checked Rodrigo’s board. He snapped his finger, summoning a bigger projection of the board for everyone to see. The four corners of his card had beans.
With a sneer, Rodrigo snatched a card from the Banker and held it up. “El Valiente!” he cheered. The card depicted a man holding a serape and a bloodied dagger.
“If you could leave the announcing to me and the Banker, senor.” Misterioso huffed and dramatically cleared his throat. “El Valiente!” he shouted and theatrically raised an arm. “This card will give the player access to El Valiente’s items. It’s up to you how you would like to use them.”
Rodrigo stroked his chin while staring at Mayté.
Lo clenched her fists. How she wanted that card. Then she would have plunged El Valiente’s dagger straight into Rodrigo’s chest.
“Don’t forget I have El Escudo.” Mayté held up her card, the shield. Her voice trembled the slightest bit, but her burning scowl spoke much louder. “You don’t scare me.”
Rodrigo chuckled. “Whatever you say, muchacha.”
No one else got lotería, though Lo was very close to getting one in a couple of spots.
“El Perrito.” The Banker held up the next card. A gray Xolo leaped from the card and ran straight for Dominic.
“Aw. Hello!” he cooed and scratched the dog behind its ears. The dog’s thin tail wagged around endlessly and it jumped up at Dominic with its bony legs, revealing its white stomach. “You look just like my perritos.”
“Ah, El Perrito has chosen you, Dominic. What do you wager?”
What kind of challenge would a dog offer? Beating it in a race? Getting it to do tricks?
“I wager one gold coin, please,” Dominic said.
“Very well,” Misterioso said. “Now, for your challenge, you must kill this dog with your bare hands.”
Mayté covered her mouth. Xiomara gasped. Next to her, Don Zelaya simply folded his hands and stared on with curiosity. Carlos looked down, and the shopkeeper looked away.
“Fun,” Rodrigo whispered with a cruel snicker.
As for Dominic, he stood slowly.
With a whine, the dog sat and stared at him expectantly. It panted, pink tongue flopped out. The way its mouth curved made it look like it was smiling.
It had no idea what was about to happen.
“No,” Dominic blurted. “I can’t do that. I won’t. Take my coin.”
“I can do that, but the challenge will not end. You’ll have to keep wagering higher and higher until you vanquish it,” Misterioso said.
“NO!” Dominic yelled.
“We won’t be able to move on until you do. Either the dog dies, or you,” Misterioso said, voice dull. “Unless … you would rather fold?”
Mayté let out a sharp breath.
“N-no …” Dominic’s wide eyes watered. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
No doubt he would be the next to die. Lo felt … nothing. No, actually, she felt the teeniest, tiniest bit of relief. One fewer person to worry about.
“What will you do, Dominic Castro?” Misterioso asked.
Still panting, the dog approached Dominic. He backed into his chair and fell.
Rodrigo burst out laughing.
Dominic coughed into his sleeve. Loud rasping coughs. The kind that sounded painful.
“I hope he’s not ill,” Xiomara murmured. “I don’t want to catch anything.”
Still hacking, Dominic hunched over.
Mayté turned to Lo, eyes wide with terror.
Was this because he was about to die?
“Dominic, please make your choice,” Misterioso said, voice growing stern. “Failure to take action can be seen as breaking the rules, and rule breakers automatically forfeit at the end of the round.”
“Ay, just take your chair and clobber it,” Rodrigo said.
Dominic began to weep. El Perrito came over and licked his face.
This was the end.
“Enough!” Mayté held out her card to Dominic. “Use it.”
“Wha—?” He looked up, red cheeks streaked with tears. “No! I can’t! I could never. I—”
“It isn’t your choice,” Mayté said.
“No!” Dominic shouted.
“Wait!” Lo exclaimed.
Mayté took the card and held it up. It flashed, and a silver shield appeared between Dominic and El Perro.
El Perrito yapped and joyfully play-bowed before vanishing.
Dominic’s cherry lips quivered, and he nodded. “Thank you, Mayté.”
“Well, then, that was certainly a turn of events.” For once, Misterioso didn’t sound so enthused.
Lo fumed. She turned to Mayté, but stopped herself from saying anything. She was the one who had told Mayté that whoever made it to the final round would survive. Of course she would help Dominic.
But there were more important people to worry about.
“You’re welcome,” Mayté whispered. The gentleness in her eyes was like a burning acid to Lo. What if Dominic was the one who would break Mayté’s heart? She’d always had her little crush on him, no matter how much she tried to deny it.
“That’s five turns, I suppose,” Misterioso said with a shrug. His nonchalance was a bit surprising. Lo imagined he would have been agitated at the lack of death.
Everyone at the table let out a breath of relief.
“I’m starving.” Rodrigo shot up from his chair and headed for the elevator.
“Wait a moment, if you please,” Misterioso said, sounding quite gratified with himself. “This round may be over, but we’re going straight to the next one.”
The other contestants gasped. Lo shot a worried glance at Mayté. There would be no time to rest or strategize.
“This is hardly fair!” the shopkeeper yelled. “You can’t keep stringing us along like this.”
“Fair?” Misterioso tilted his head to the side, and his eyes narrowed.
His toothy smile vanished. He stalked across the room, taking big strides.
“As a Gamemaker, I can make the rules as I see fit, senor.” He turned to the group.
“You have unlocked sudden death. In this round, each player’s wager will be the same.
Everyone will wager their lives. The round will continue indefinitely until two players have been eliminated.
” He stopped behind Lo and Mayté, placing his hands on the backs of their chairs.
“This time, using anything except your own wits and skills”—he locked eyes with Lo, then flicked his sharp gaze to Mayté—“won’t help. ”