Chapter 26 #2
‘A little mortal girl thinks she’s the hero?’ Barbara’s teeth gleamed. ‘I’ve fought a lot of heroes. They all fall the same way, in tears about the people who they couldn’t save.’
‘I know disembodied hands who are a better opponent than you. At least they didn’t talk so much.’ Delilah sat with her back straight and her eyes very cold. ‘Deal the cards.’
The next game, Delilah had a pair of jacks so she bet higher – only to get smashed by a straight. She lost again. And again. And again.
Lucy twisted the edges of her sleeves between her hands. ‘You should let me play next time. This never should have been your problem.’
‘No, I can do this. Howard is my friend – that makes it my problem too. This is my area of expertise.’ Delilah glared at the table so she wouldn’t have to see Barbara’s smile, though the smugness still radiated in the air. ‘My turn to deal.’
Three hundred years of Delilah’s soul were gone.
She tried not to think about it. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck, soaking the collar of her dress.
Three hundred years would be a lot longer than if she’d just got a job in this hotel and earned her way up to Heaven the long way.
Barbara had been lucky so far, but luck never lasted forever in cards. Skill came into play in the long run.
Delilah did a calculation in her head. The odds of Barbara having so many strong hands in a row were less than one per cent. Interesting. Even more than cards, Delilah believed in maths.
Barbara laid down her hand. ‘Four kings!’
‘Hey!’ Delilah pointed. ‘I have the king of spades in my own hand. You’re cheating!’
Barbara’s fingers paused on the cards, then she laughed.
‘So what? Do you have any proof that I cheated? Maybe two kings from the same suit accidentally got mixed into this deck. I blame the Purgatory Hotel for providing me with a flawed deck of cards.’ Her smirk twisted.
‘Foolish little girl, did you truly believe a being of Hell would play fair? Pathetic.’
Delilah had been bluffing – she didn’t have any kings – and it had worked. Barbara had all but admitted to cheating.
‘Aw, you look frustrated,’ Barbara said. ‘Do you want to give up now before your losses get even worse? I could use you as a bargaining chip against Lucy too.’
‘Do I seem frustrated to you? Because I’m actually extremely happy right now.
’ Delilah threw back her head and laughed, deep from the belly, a furious sound releasing all her tension and exhaustion.
When she turned to look at Barbara again, fresh glee sparkled in her eyes.
‘Here I’ve been playing honestly like an idiot.
I didn’t realise we were playing by the rules “it doesn’t count as cheating if you don’t get caught”.
What a relief! I’m far better at no-rules poker than Texas hold ’em. ’
‘You’re good at bluffing, even if you aren’t good at cards,’ Barbara said.
‘Excellent job, Delilah.’ Lucy glared at their opponent. ‘I’ll prevent any further magic from being used in this room, to stop this filthy, treacherous cheater from changing the cards again.’ Her eyes glowed red.
Barbara’s smile never even faltered. ‘It doesn’t matter. You’re too far behind to beat me now. If you continue, then you’ll lose the rest of your soul. Even if you stop playing now, I have enough to use you as a hostage against Lucy.’
‘Quit? I’m only just getting started.’ Delilah yanked out her scrunchie, her hair falling in waves down her back. One-handed, she put up her hair in a high ponytail. ‘Hand over the cards. It’s my turn to deal.’
Delilah spread the cards out into two fans, one in each hand, then brought them together in a faro shuffle turned to a cascade. With unerring precision, she tossed cards between her and Barbara.
Delilah peeked at her hole cards, then said, ‘All in. I bet my entire soul.’
Barbara raised an eyebrow. ‘I see you want a quick death. I’ll bet the years I’ve taken from you and a sixteenth of Lucy’s barony. You’re not worth more than that.’
So she refused to bet Howard? Fine, the night was still young and Delilah was only just getting started.
As they flipped over their final cards, Delilah proudly revealed, ‘Royal straight flush.’
‘Two of a kind.’ The lower-than-usual hand proved Lucy’s mechanism to prevent cheating had worked. Barbara’s facial muscles tightened with suspicion. ‘It’s my turn to deal next time.’
Smiling, Delilah handed over the deck. ‘All yours.’
In the next game, Delilah went all in again. She cheerfully revealed her cards in the end: ‘Royal straight flush.’
‘How are you doing that?’ Barbara demanded. ‘Were you a witch in life? Perhaps a rare and powerful sorcerer? Yet how could you remain unaffected by Lucy blocking all magic on this table?’
‘Are you accusing me of cheating?’ Delilah leaned her chin in her palm and smirked. ‘Do you have any proof?’
‘I must know what you are doing!’
‘I’m playing poker. Don’t hate the player – hate the game.’
Lucy gazed dreamily. ‘What glorious humiliation in your eyes, Barbara! I’ve decided I like this strange game, after all. Delilah, you’ve reached the status of my second-favourite human. I think I love you like a daughter.’
Barbara growled, ‘Hurry up and deal the cards again.’
For the third time, Delilah laid down: ‘Royal straight flush.’
Barbara glared. ‘The odds of three royal straight flushes in a row would be one in 274,000,000,000,000,000.’
‘Ah, a fellow maths fan!’ Delilah smirked. ‘So it’s not impossible. Do you have any proof that I’m cheating?’
‘You can’t be a human,’ Barbara hissed. ‘It’s as if you’re creating cards out of nowhere!’
Actually, Delilah had shifted two Purgatory Hotel decks from her bag to her lap during her big, dramatic laugh.
The first trick of a magician is misdirection.
All the cards in the Purgatory Hotel had the same backs.
While she’d been doing up her hair in a ponytail, she’d slipped a few cards up her sleeve.
Kissing a queen of spades, Delilah said, ‘What can I say? Lady Luck loves me.’
‘Lady Luck is going to have to fight me for the honour of adopting you,’ Lucy said. ‘I’ll bring my brass knuckles.’ Silver appeared on her hands.
Delilah gasped. ‘I’ve always wanted literally any other mother besides the one I got stuck with!’
‘I’ve always wanted a daughter who can humiliate my worst enemy,’ Lucy said with tears in her eyes.
‘Enough of this soppy nonsense.’ Barbara poked the cards. ‘Hurry up and deal.’
This time, after the first cards were laid out, Barbara bet, ‘A small property that I have near the River Styx.’
Delilah frowned. If Barbara refused to bet Howard, then this game could continue forever. She didn’t want to get into another situation where an immortal wore her down out of exhaustion. It was time to taunt Barbara and make her careless.
When it came time to flip over their cards, Barbara proudly revealed, ‘Ha! I have the ace of spades as my high card! You can’t have a royal straight flush this time – unless you’re cheating.’
‘Alas, Lady Luck has been less kind to me this round.’ Delilah flipped over her cards to reveal, combined with the face-up cards, an ace, king, queen, jack and ten of clubs. ‘I only have a straight flush. It still beats your ace, though.’
Delilah had deliberately dealt Barbara the ace of spades just to make her think that she might win this time.
The provocation worked. Barbara’s face warped and shifted, briefly becoming a yawning void like a dark hole.
It was unbearable for the human eyes. Delilah stared at the wall next to her opponent’s head, refusing to outwardly flinch.
In a voice howling like the solar wind, Barbara demanded, ‘Who are you? You cannot be a mere mortal. Are you a demon who Lucy brought here to trick me? Are you an angel in disguise to test this hotel? I demand that you tell me!’
Delilah leaned back in her chair. ‘If you bet Howard’s freedom and agree to leave this hotel forever if I win the next game, then I’ll tell you. If not? You’ll have to spend eternity curious.’