Chapter Fourteen #3
“It was thrilling to watch you. I came here for fun, thought I’d play a few games. Lost all my money, but it was fun while it lasted.”
“I think you should learn about the game before you ever play again.” Kartog set the bag of winnings in front of Jenice. “Here, you take this. I don’t need it.”
“Are you kidding?” Jenice said. “I could buy a small moon with that. It’s too much. I can’t.”
Baldo shouted, “That’s my money and you give it away to some woman who doesn’t have a clue?”
She walked back over to Baldo and said, “If you touch a hair on this woman’s head, or take her money, I will gut you from head to toe, and in case you are debating whether I am serious, I am escheal to a Goddess of Abnobia, Ninti.”
Baldo got up and hurried out of the room.
Kartog went back to Jenice. “My advice, don’t spend that in here, or you’ll lose everything.”
“I won’t, I promise you. I’m going home and buying me and my father our own home. Somewhere quiet.”
“Sounds like a great idea,” Kartog said.
A waiter came up to her and said, “Ziggy can see you now. She’s just at the bar.”
“Thank you.”
After meeting up at the bar, Kartog and Ziggy found a table for two at the edge of the gaming room. The noise of the room helped them, and their conversation, step into the background.
A waitress brought over two drinks. Ziggy took a sip. “You won big, I hear.”
“Just to keep my mind active when I was waiting for you, and I had to put an odious man in his place.”
“He was thrown out shortly after. Causing a disturbance,” Ziggy said.
“Glad to hear it. Odious man.”
After Kartog took a first drink she asked, “How are they?”
“Stressed. Either strangle each other or kiss each other is how I would describe it,” Ziggy said.
“Really? The wolf has taken a shine to Camber, has she?”
“And so has Camber. Honestly, I’ve never seen her like this. There’s never been anyone else, as far as I know.”
Kartog stirred her drink with her cocktail stick. “Too dangerous.”
“Believe me, it’s full-blown sexual tension up there,” Ziggy said.
Kartog laughed. “Yes, I remember the first days when Ninti and I were falling in love. It was a very volatile situation. Do you think it will help us or hinder us?”
“Our wolf Brogan has already staked her claim as Camber’s protector, so she’ll be sticking very close. I think that’s a good thing, but when it comes time to say goodbye and go back to her own world, Camber might end up with a broken heart,” Ziggy said.
“But if this Brogan is acting as her protector, then she’s imprinted on her, and maybe she’ll stay.”
“Map Keepers have always been on their own. It’s the easiest way to hide, isn’t it?”
“It is, but we can’t help or fight against her feelings,” Kartog said. “So, what’s happening tonight?”
“Ah…they’re coming down for dinner with me. Stupidly, when they arrived, I asked them to dine with me. I wasn’t thinking it through. This will make them easily spotted.”
“But they’ll be in a big crowd,” Kartog said. “And your security, is it in place?”
“Everywhere,” Ziggy said. “Nobody can get up to the room without getting through a wall of trained soldiers. You know I recruit from former military.”
“There you go, then, and I will be circling the room, watching, waiting,” Kartog said.
Ziggy swirled her drink around the glass.
“Whenever she’s come to me in the past, I’ve had to hide her down in the locked basement floor, deep within the rock of this moon, where any rebel that needs help goes.
Bare walls, food, drink, that’s about it.
Since she brought someone with her this time, I thought it would be nice to let her experience the hotel, restaurants, gaming rooms, and the finest room I had. ”
“I understand,” Kartog said. “You’re right, and they will be surrounded by a big crowd. What are they doing this afternoon?”
“I’m not sure. They have an RR room in there. It was to give the wolf the chance to shift and run. They are ordering up food to the suite, and don’t worry, it’s being scanned for contaminants,” Ziggy said.
“Thank you for letting me know they had arrived,” Kartog said.
“Of course. Do you know when Cardo and the Drazani will be here?”
“Tomorrow morning, we are hoping—it will give time for the rebels to get here too,” Kartog said.
“Good. They are going to GallowGlas next. The original plan was to ask if the wolves knew how to get Brogan home and ask if they would shelter them for a while.”
“What’s the plan, then?” Kartog said.
“I have a ship, fully stocked and ready for them to go. If they’re attacked on their way to the ship, I have security dressed as customers, so that no one is tied to this moon. You know, Kartog, I will need to be seen helping the Abnobian squad. You know what that means?” Ziggy said pointedly.
“Yes, I know. I’m here with the cover story of looking for an ancient vase being sold by a dealer, so I will need to be seen as such too, but I will try to point them in the wrong direction.”
“Davor must believe that I and my hotel are under the thumb of Abnobia, or no more rebels will be safe to come here. I can’t allow that,” Ziggy said.
“Then let’s prepare,” Kartog said.