5. Chapter Five Neon Knuckles
Chapter Five: Neon Knuckles
Maverick
Glittering lights bathed the night in a kaleidoscope of neon colors, making it almost as bright as day. Excited mortals roamed the streets in their gaudiest outfits, sequins shimmering and fabrics glowing under the vibrant signs. I high-fived as many of them as I could and might have knocked a few huge cups of beer or cocktails out of their hands. It was an accident, I swear. Laughter and chatter filled the air, and the scent of street food mingled with the occasional waft of expensive cologne. Las Vegas was always my favorite city. I spun in place, like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music because I always found this city electrifying, intoxicating, and irresistible.
A pity my friends would only join me occasionally .
Lux and Stone had been my companions on the mortal plane for centuries now. We were more like brothers than friends, what was called Bloodsworn in the seraphim sector of Hell, where we came from.
Where we escaped from when bad became worse.
Of course, the Seraphim Guard wouldn’t allow us to live here. According to them, seraphim belong in the seraphim sector, and they’d been hunting us ever since we arrived.
So we were supposed to be keeping a low profile–whatever that meant. I never agreed to it anyway. For hundreds of years, we’d evaded them, and I had no doubt we’d continue to do so for eternity.
Top tip: with a smile and a shrug, you can avoid almost any argument. Fist-fighting with my brothers could be fun sometimes, but then we all had to go into stasis for a while to recover. We were immortal, not impervious. Better to get along as much as possible. There were plenty of mortals and supers in the world to fight with that wouldn’t tax me as much.
“So, where are we headed tonight?” Stone was dressed in his usual pressed jeans and henley. With his neatly trimmed hair, his appearance resembled a clean-cut FBI agent, which hid his darkness well. No one would guess that he was the most ruthless of us three.
“Take a wild guess… Give up? Blackbeard’s.” I jerked my chin forward in the direction of the pirate-themed casino I’d always enjoyed. They didn’t have a clue what real pirates were like, but it didn’t matter to me. I got a kick out of the absurdity of the place.
“That place again?” said Lux. “What about Cirque?” He wore a black suit with a T-shirt underneath. With his dark hair and sunglasses, he played the part of an Italian businessman well.
All the women, from way too young to way too old, watched as we passed them. They always did. I shrugged and headed in the direction of the Pirate’s Cove anyway .
The doors of the casino slid open to reveal a sensory feast and I took a great big breath, reveling in the spectacle of it all. The air smelled of money and the faint scent of cologne from the well-dressed patrons. The quiet hum of conversation and the rhythmic clinking of chips created a hypnotic background score. Flashing lights from the slot machines and the bright, swirling patterns of the carpet dazzled the eyes, making everything feel surreal and larger than life. I loved this place.
Knowing my friends would follow, I strolled to the bar, where a bartender with a slicked-back ponytail and a crisp white shirt took our order and promptly handed us our drinks. Stone scoffed at my cocktail, a vibrant blue garnished with a twist of citrus, but I squealed, beamed at him, and took a sip through the straw anyway. He scowled, but I wasn’t paying attention to him because the first sip was a cool, refreshing rush, a perfect antidote to the hot desert air outside. Lux and Stone both took a sip of their boring bottles of domestic beer like boring mortal men.
I made a snoring noise at them, but they ignored me.
Drink in hand, I skipped to a blackjack table and sat down. The smooth green felt purred against my fingers as I adjusted my chips, the coolness of the stack reassuring in my palm. Blackjack was my game, and tonight, the possibilities were endless. The dealer, a middle-aged man with a friendly smile and quick hands, shuffled the cards with a practiced flourish, the sound of the cards riffing together sharply, building the anticipation in my chest.
While the casino was alive with the hum of voices and the clatter of chips, the most important sounds to me were the heartbeats of the players around the table. No one would ever know by my behavior that I was paying attention to anything, but each beat revealed a story.
A pulse of anxiety, excitement, or confidence .
I laughed maniacally under my breath and placed my bet.
The dealer shuffled the deck and began to deal the cards. They glided across the table, landing in front of each player with a soft whisper. My first card was a King, the second an Ace—a blackjack. I kept my expressions as varied and unpredictable as possible and glanced around the table, sensing the others.
To my left, a nervous young man glanced repeatedly at his cards. His heartbeat was quick, almost frantic, betraying his inexperience. He was already on to his next move, his mind racing ahead. He’d likely hit, unable to resist the allure of getting closer to twenty-one.
Next to him, an older woman appeared calm on the outside, but her heart beat like a steady drum of determination. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, and I knew she’d hit or split.
To my right, a middle-aged man with a slight tremor checked his hand. His heart beat steadily but with an underlying tension, the kind that comes from someone familiar with the game but wary of risk. He would play it safe, likely hitting once, maybe twice, but not pushing too far.
The dealer’s heartbeat was slow and measured, unfazed. He’d seen it all before.
The young man to my left decided to hit. The dealer dealt him a card. His heart skipped a beat and dropped. He’d busted, a look of dismay crossing his face.
The older woman, as expected, split her hand. She hit the first new card, and her heart pounded louder. For her second hand, the beat of her heart steadied as she settled into a decision to stand.
The middle-aged man hesitated, his heart a slow, cautious thump. He gestured for a hit. He hit again. His heart leaped with joy, and optimism tugged at the corners of his mouth. That was a twenty-one, then .
Now, it was my turn. I giggled, shifting around in my seat as I revealed a blackjack. The dealer flipped his hole card, a King, bringing his total to fifteen. He drew another card, a seven. Bust.
I hooted excitedly as the round concluded, then collected my winnings. The young man sighed, the older woman nodded with satisfaction at her respectable finish, and the middle-aged man beamed at his win. The emotions around the table had shifted, each heartbeat a tribute to the highs and lows of the game.
Lux leaned in and whispered, “Think you’ve pushed it far enough. Cash in, let’s go.”
“Ho ho ho, no way, man. One more for the show.” I nodded at the dealer, who dealt another hand.
“We do have that thing to get to.” It was a lie; we had nowhere to go. He was just trying to be discreet about being pushy.
“Well then fly away, little birdy! I’ll catch you later.” I waved him off, examining my hand and assessing the table.
“We’re not going without you.”
“Awwww…” I gave him a patronizing grin. “I want you to know I love you too.” Then I cleared my throat and grunted at him for trying to tear me away from the table, his words drowned out by the clamor of the casino. My fingers tapped against the table as I shifted around in my seat, the rest of the players still absorbed in their hands.
The young man to my left, face flushed red, watched the dealer intently, his fingers drumming a rapid beat on the felt. The older woman, her face a mask of stoic determination, adjusted her cards with deliberate precision. The middle-aged man, buoyed by his previous win, leaned back in his chair, a small smile playing on his lips, his heart rate slowing to a more relaxed rhythm.
I giggled again, feeling the eyes of the crowd on me right where I wanted them and pushed all my chips to the center of the table: twenty-one. A ripple of gasps and murmurs swept through the crowd as the dealer flipped over his cards–a bust.
I jumped to my feet and shouted as cheers erupted around the table, a cacophony of excitement and disbelief. The noise was deafening, a mix of applause, whistles, and shouted congratulations. As I raked in my winnings—a hundred grand this time—the triumph sent a thrill through me. I didn’t need the money, but the surge of adrenaline was intoxicating.
People crowded around us, their faces a blur of excitement and curiosity. Some reached out to pat me on the back or shake my hand, their voices blending into a single, indistinguishable roar of approval. The lights of the casino seemed to shine even brighter, reflecting off the sea of faces and the glittering chips, splashing a dazzling glow over everything.
I was soaring at the top of the world. My heart raced with the exhilaration of the moment. I always loved these big, explosive moments. They made me feel alive, which was hard to do with how long I had been around. I whooped loudly, taking in the awe and admiration of the crowd. This was my domain, my playground, and I was the king.
“Great job. Now let’s go,” said Lux.
“Not a chance, Lance. I’m on fire!” I nodded to the dealer again. “Let’s dance.”
“Mav.” His deep voice was heavy in warning. Not that I cared.
He and Stone were both over-cautious, in my opinion. Something we had all discussed endlessly, and I was over it. I copied his tone. “Lux.”
He groaned, a deep sound of exasperation nearly lost amidst the ambient noise of the casino. The dealer’s eyes gleamed with curiosity and wariness as he began the next round, his hands a blur as he dealt the cards with practiced precision. The atmosphere at the table was tense, every player’s heartbeats thrumming like an underlying symphony to the game’s rhythm.
My cards felt cool and firm between my fingers as I glanced at my hand and groaned. The rest of the table went through their turns, stealing glances at me and my vacillating emotions. When it was mine, I revealed my cards—a twenty, just enough to edge out the dealer’s nineteen. The table collectively held its breath as the dealer flipped his final card, revealing a bust. Cheers erupted a third time, louder and more fervent than before, echoing off the high ceilings and reverberating through the crowded room as I got up on my chair to celebrate.
The dealer’s voice was lost in the sound of applause and shouts as he tried to tell me to get down. Eventually, I did, raking in my second hundred grand. Beaming, I soaked in the flashing lights and the sudden burst of streamers that shot across the table.
The crowd pressed in closer, faces alight with excitement and admiration. The air was thick with the mingled scents of perfume, air freshener, and the ever-present tang of money. The cacophony of voices rose higher, each shout and cheer adding to the electric atmosphere.
Amidst the celebration, three men in business suits appeared beside me. Their tailored attire and composed expressions stood out starkly against the casual revelry of the other patrons. They watched me with interest and cautious respect.
One of them, a tall man with sharp features and a meticulous haircut, stepped forward slightly. His voice cut through the noise, smooth and controlled. “Congratulations,” he said, extending a hand. “Quite the impressive streak you’ve got there.”
I gave him a high five and giggled at his expression. Of course, I knew he wanted to shake. Despite the weight of his scrutiny, because of the thrill of the game, I didn’t care. I sat there flush with victory, the lights, the sounds, the rush of winning big—all of it combined into a heady, intoxicating cocktail.
“Mr…”
“Call me Maverick.”
“Mr. Maverick, would you come with us, please?”
“No thanks. Don’t know if you noticed, but I’m on fire here.” I nodded at the dealer, but he didn’t seem sure.
Lux interrupted, stepping forward. “Mav.”
I held up my hand. “Lux. Let me deal with this.”
“Mr. Maverick, we’re going to have to insist,” added the suit.
Swiveling my head and torso in his direction, I met his eye and waved at him dismissively. “Well, I’m afraid you don’t have the authority, so run along.”
He didn’t even flinch. “Sir, the owner of this establishment does have the authority to ask you to leave.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Ohhhh.” I chuckled. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
I stood up. He was pissing me off, and I couldn’t keep my tone down any longer. “You want me to leave because I’m winning?”
He took a step back, presumably to let me leave the table, but it made him appear intimidated. “No sir, we’d like you to come with us. If you decline our invitation, then we’d like you to leave.”
I glared at him and swung my arm, gesturing to the crowd, which had gone quiet. “Everybody already knows you want to bring me to the back room and knock me around so I won’t come back and keep cutting into your profits. Why not just say so?”
The suit shook his head. “You’re wrong, sir.”
“Oh I hope not.” Chuckling, I stepped forward, squaring my shoulders with him.
He didn’t flinch. “Sorry to disappoint, sir. ”
“Alright then. Let’s go see.” Rubbing my hands together, I turned to Lux. “Wait for me out front.”
He stared at me right in the eye and linked, You’re such an asshole, Maverick. Don’t kill them.
I laughed even as Lux glared at me, and wiggled my fingers in a wave goodbye to him. Then, I turned back to the bouncer and flashed him a big smile. “Let’s go then, G.” I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but I always loved the energy when I heard the kids say it, so I just went with it. I liked to mix it up.
Adapt or die, as they say.
The bouncer led me to a little room in the back with a small circular table and two chairs. The walls were white, the floor was white, the table was white. The chairs were chrome, and one wall was obviously a two-way mirror. I waved at it excitedly. “Hey guys!”
“Have a seat,” the security guy instructed.
I pulled out a chair and spun it around. As I straddled it, facing the backrest, he kept his eyes fixed on me, wary. I draped my arms over the chair’s back, affecting an air of indifference to his presence. Then I lifted my gaze to meet his, my expression one of feigned innocent curiosity. By the door, the bouncer leaned against the wall, arms crossed in a show of nonchalance. But the rapid pulse visible at his throat gave away his tension. Dude was pissing himself. I cocked my head, wondering why. “You okay, man?”
He cleared his throat. “We don’t like cheaters, Mr. Maverick.”
All the mister bullshit was getting on my nerves. “I bet. Hey, what’s your name?”
“Peter.”
“Mr. Peter, did you bring me back here to have a chit chat about morals and shit? Because I have some thoughts. Have you read Sartre?”
He stared at me for a beat or two. “No. ”
I smiled and sat taller. “You’re gonna beat me up, aren’t you?” I winked, pointing at him. “I knew it. I told you I knew what you were up to.”
“No, Maverick.” As he pushed off the wall and crossed the room, I grinned about how my little ‘Mr. Peter’ lesson had worked like a charm. “We’re not here to beat you up.”
He was lying, but I dramatically let my face fall flat. “Well, what then?” I was looking forward to getting pulled into a room like this and throwing some punches. This dude was really cramping my style by dragging it out so long.
“You return the money you stole, and you’re free to go.” He stopped in another corner and leaned against the wall there, trying to seem relaxed. I knew better. There was no fooling Hellborne when we could hear heartbeats and taste emotions,
“I won my hands fair and square,” I explained with a half-shrug. They would disagree if they knew what I could do.
“We know what you did.”
They suspected, because they ran the business in a way that reduced the chance of them ever losing. But they had no idea how I kept winning. Probably thought I was counting cards. “Prove it.”
He smirked. “Prove you didn’t cheat.” Like it was a gotcha or something.
I raised an eyebrow. “You never studied philosophy, did you? Not Sartre, not anyone.”
“Excuse me?”
Standing up, I turned the chair around and sat down, sliding my ass forward into a slouch, and crossed my arms. “What did you study?”
“Business. What’s your point?” His tone hid an edge this time. I’d hit a nerve. Mr. Peter was self-conscious about his lack of success .
I scoffed, twisting the proverbial blade a bit. “Business? That’s a trade, not an education. If you’d learned anything, you’d know you can’t prove a negative.”
“We know you cheated because you couldn’t have won as often as you did without cheating.”
“Why not?”
“It’s statistically impossible.”
“No, it’s not.”
He faltered. It was only half a second, but that and his heartbeat were enough for me to know he wasn’t sure. “I assure you that it is.” But he was just parroting what his employer told him.
I sighed. “Oh look, another dude who can’t think for himself. Can we just get to the fisticuffs, please? I’m bored now.”
He cocked his head. “You want me to beat you up?” This guy really wasn’t very smart.
I flashed him a smile and held my hands out, palms up. “I want you to try.”
“Mr.—”
I interrupted him, shouting, “It’s just Maverick! For fuck’s sake, are you really that fucking slow?”
He was, and I wanted him to know it, because he was security, so experienced in combat and my best chance for low-risk fun right now. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the kind of security that had a handle on his emotions. Those fuckers were like little brown butterflies. What the fuck was the point?
He held his hand up and counted on his fingers. “Maverick, one, we know who you are. And two, I do not have a death wish.”
“Very proud of you for counting to two, young man. Anyway, I promise not to kill you. Just a little sparring, come on. ”
His mouth flattened. I was finally getting to him. “No. Return us our money, and I’ll release you before the bounty hunter arrives.”
Now my face fell flat for real. “Uh, the what now?”
Mother fucker.
He gave nothing away; his face remained completely inscrutable. “The seraphim hunter is on the way. This is your notice. Give us your stolen winnings, and you can get a head start out of here.”
I stood up. He let his hands down. “I see what’s going on here. You drew the short straw, didn’t you? You don’t know what you’re fucking with. None of you do.”
He glanced at the mirror.
I followed his gaze, my pulse deepening, skin heating up. “Yeah, they better all get in here because you’ll be on the fl–” I leaped at him, and the door swung open.
Then I was on the floor, limbs thrown in odd directions, buried in the middle of a heap of men. Like stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night, I roared—at myself as much as all these assholes—and stood up with a force that sent men across the room. A few of them hit the wall and came down at sickening angles.
One guy took a step toward me, but I was done with them now. I had to find my brothers and get out of town before the hunters arrived. I backhanded him on my way past; his head twisted, and he smacked to the floor. When I glanced back, he wasn’t moving. Blood pooled around his head. Not what I was going for. “Well fuck a goddess,” I muttered, but I didn’t stick around any longer.
I phased to the front door to find Lux and Stone, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. “Where the fuck are you guys?”
When I saw a purple-tinged flash light up the sky of the entire city for a nanosecond, I knew they were in trouble. That would be the hunters throwing lightblasts at them. The crowd stared in wonder, gazing up at the sky, speaking in hushed tones as I took off down the street, searching for my friends.
They were going to be so pissed at me.
But how was I supposed to know the casino would figure out who we were and call Hell’s authority?
That was a fucking first.
I ran up and down the strip, keeping focused on zoning in, like radar, to check each side street. When I felt them, I let the bond we shared bring me closer, rushing blindly through the darkness. They were at the back of an alley fighting the hunters, as I suspected.
I let out a breath of relief.
They’d have been fine without me, but it was safest if I helped out.
Pulling out my dagger, I flicked it straight to the head of one of the hunters. He didn’t even hear me coming. “Hey you! Fucker. Tell them to leave. Us. The fuck. Alone.”
Everyone stopped to watch my outburst and the guy with the knife in his head. The distraction gave Stone time to do the same to the other hunter. They really sent these guys out before training them properly.
Both hunters dissolved into a flashing blue light, which quivered, then disappeared. They’d return to Hell and report what had happened, and the whole thing would be added to our files. They must have had an entire fucking cabinet on us by now if they’d printed it all out.
I smiled at them. “You guys invigorated now or what?”
Lux shook his head, and Stone glared at me, his eyes glowing red as he struggled to maintain control of himself. “Fucking dandy. Can we go?”
I wouldn’t suggest anyone else get in his way, but Stone didn’t intimidate me. He wasn’t trying to either; he was just pissed. Didn’t bother me. I swung my hand and snapped my fingers. “Golly gee, Dad, but it was just getting good.”
He crossed his arms, raising his chin in disbelief that I’d joke about hunters getting so close. “No, you’re being reckless again.” He never did understand my way of coping with stress. He liked to fuck and kill, and I did, too, now that I thought about it.
But first, I’d joke around.
It was better than being a grumpy asshole about everything.
I threw my hand over my heart and looked at him with mock surprise. “Am I?”
He shook his head. “You know you are.”
It was the first time the hunters had worked with non-magicals to find us, which was a concerning development. Not that they had found us, but that they’d been so desperate they revealed themselves to the humans. Who else were they working with?
I frowned ironically, like I’d never before considered my behavior inappropriate at all. Though in truth, I was going to start now. If the hunters were working with others, they were potentially behind any closed door, and our freedom was shakier than ever. “Hmmm. That’s not like me, is it?”
Stone rolled his eyes, but Lux smirked. He could lighten up sometimes, but Stone was more of a stick in the mud than a cool, hard object, as his name suggested.
Without another word, we phased out of there. Stone and Lux might have gone home—a big, old Victorian we owned together, situated in a secret, remote location. But I went to my apartment in Crimson City to think things over on my own.
Hell had been after us for centuries. Strictly speaking, we weren’t supposed to be residing in the mortal realm full-time, but we’d had enough of both sectors of Hell we were allowed in, out of the three that are there. We considered ourselves refugees.
Hell considered us fugitives.
We had evaded them so far, but if they were going to step up their game, we would have to do the same. Be smart and tactical. Enlist some help, but be clever about it. We couldn’t trust just anyone with the truth about who we were, but if they were revealing themselves to casino owners, we could find more allies, too.
We knew a few mages we could trust, maybe a vampire or two. We’d need some time to think it all through and consider all the options from all angles. Place our trust in the wrong person, and we’d be back in Hell next week.
If there was one thing the three of us were always in agreement about, it was that we’d rather do anything than return to Hell.