Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
Lo
Mayté gasped, and Lo’s heart raced. This was the card that she had overheard Mayté and Alejandro discussing. The card that the winner needed.
And it was out there, while she and Mayté were still trapped behind the glass.
“Whoa!” Misterioso gasped, but it sounded rehearsed, as if he had done this spiel many times in the past. “El Beso de la Fortuna. The final card of the game. Whoever can claim it will win Fortune’s Kiss!”
“I suppose this ending will be a bit anticlimactic, hmm?” Loretta mused. Her gaze flitted to Carlos, who still knelt before the mirror.
The card flew from Miguel’s hand and floated to the other side of the room. It spun and winked under the spotlights before it landed near the elevator.
“Well, boy, it’s all yours,” Misterioso smugly said. “Go on. Claim your prize.”
Carlos flashed an uncertain frown.
Mayté placed a hand on the glass. “Carlos—”
“Don’t say it!” he snapped, face hardening. “You’re still alive talking to me. I’m not winning without you, Mayté.”
Behind him, the card glowed brighter as if demanding to be claimed.
The Banker slowly looked to the mirror. The strange expression on his face reminded Lo of when she had unknowingly willed Senora Montoya’s death during the first round.
“What if …” Lo’s hand found Mayté’s. She lowered her voice so only Mayté could hear. “What if we tried one last time?”
Mayté glanced up at her, understanding in her eyes. “You mean, tried influencing the house?”
“Yes. What if we willed it to bring the card to us? No matter the cost, winning the game will undo it.”
Mayté nodded with determination.
Bring us the card, Lo thought as she nibbled her bottom lip.
“If no one claims the card, then there will be no winner,” Loretta warned. “You will all lose. You will stay here forever, or die!”
No! What if Loretta ended the game before the house brought them the card?
“Ha! Is that really something you alone can decide?” Mayté snapped.
Lo couldn’t have been any prouder. Mayté was playing on the tension between Loretta and Mysterioso. Using that to buy more time. And it was working.
Misterioso’s eyes darkned. He marched to Loretta’s throne. “If we’re ending the game without a winner, this is a choice we must both agree on.”
The two began to argue.
Lo squeezed her eyes shut and prayed as hard as she could. There were legends of humans fervently praying until their sweat became blood. She imagined the desperate agony. Please. Give us that card. Now!
When she opened her eyes, the inside of the mirror had changed. Now it reflected the gaming den. The room was exactly the same, but the only people inside it were herself and Mayté.
“Mayté, look.” Lo pointed behind them where the card now floated.
Mayté jumped to her feet. She rushed toward the card. Lo followed after her.
“What’s your plan?” Lo asked.
Mayté didn’t slow down. “I found a book that had records of all the winners and their wishes. There was one wish that kept repeating. Become a Gamemaker and gain limitless power. Your mother said Gamemakers can do anything. I’ll wish to become one.
” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m going to use that power to free us, and destroy the house once and for all. ”
Lo’s mind raced. The wall glowed, showing Loretta, Misterioso, Miguel, and Mayté writhing in agony as the house around them crumbled.
Just like the house showed her Miguel and Misterioso’s origins, it showed her the end results of her best friend’s plan.
“Mayté, no!” She grabbed her best friend’s arm.
“The Gamemakers are bound to the house. If you destroy it, you’ll die! ”
“I …” Mayté’s eyebrows furrowed. “It’s the only way. I’ll release you and Carlos first then I can die.” She snatched her arm free and ran for the card.
“No! Don’t!” Lo raced after Mayté. The entire salon rumbled as a mountain of marigold petals and calaveras—some painted, and others rotting—rose from under the card. Mayté climbed up, but quickly sank into the petals.
Lo stepped onto a calavera and used others to climb ahead of Mayté. The house was on her side. Likely helping her out of self-preservation, but Lo could care less about the house or what it wanted.
No matter what, she refused to let the most important person in her life sacrifice herself.