by Andi Feron
We checked into our hotel and were taken to the human side of the hotel. Different sections were designed for the needs of specific species. I wondered what some of the alien rooms looked like. I ordered a room by myself, unwilling to share with any of the guys. The room looked very much like an Earth hotel room. I rented a suite, which meant there was a living room with a white couch and two white chairs.
The bed had a white spread with a large TV in front of it. My bathroom contained a shower and a jacuzzi tub. All I could think was I wished Seraphine was here to enjoy it with me. I showered and put on khaki shorts and a royal blue collared shirt. I heard a knock on the door. On the other side of the door stood Colin, Gabriel, Deron, and Morgan.
“We can’t get our fearless leader to come out of his room,” Morgan said.
“Can’t say that I blame him.” I shrugged.
“I promised Allie I would make sure he had some fun,” Gabriel protested.
“I think he probably is, or as much as he possibly can away from her.” I knew what I stated was true. It was a miracle that we even got him to go to his own bachelor party. I knew the only reason he was here was to make Allie happy.
“Come on, Talon. You have to come out too. There will be lots of fun—gambling, shows, women.” Colin thought he was being persuasive.
“Yeah, that last one isn’t really appealing.” Seraphine was the only half-naked woman I cared to stare at.
“Seraphine will never know,” Deron said.
Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t think Seraphine knowing is his issue.”
Gabriel at least had some sense.
“I get the feeling all of you are not going to go away until I get John out of his room and I’m hungry, so let’s go. My friend Petra recommended the Star Lounge so let’s start there.” I relented and led the guys to John’s room.
We knocked on John’s door and, as expected, were met with protest. He held a device with war reports in his hand.
“I’ve got work to do.” He looked like he was about to close the door on us.
“You gotta eat at some point,” I said.
Colin snapped a picture. “Why don’t I send this to Allie right now?” He turned his phone around, showing a picture of John with the device that Allie had insisted he leave behind.
John glared at him. “Fine! I’ll go, but only for a couple hours.”
We took what seemed to be a cab to Star Lounge. The vehicle was a black three-wheeler. The sides were open, which was comfortable because the temperature was perfect.
“Tell me you two are going to at least drink?” Colin directed that at John and me.
“I might have a drink or two. Help me get through this night,” John said.
I shook my head. “I don’t drink.”
“Explains your tension,” Colin threw my way.
Gabriel, Morgan, and Deron hit the craps table while Colin hit up the burlesque show that was going on one room over. John and I sat down at the bar. John ordered some shots.
“Am I going to have to carry you home?” I asked him when he got to his fifth one.
“It takes a lot more than a few shots to get me drunk.”
“I didn’t even know you drank.”
“Once in a while. Usually if Morgan or Gabriel drag me out. Sometimes it helps to drown out the emotions of others in a closed-off space full of people. Don’t worry, Allie never drinks with me. She keeps that promise she made you all those years ago.”
Allie was grown up and she could have easily chosen to drink, but I liked the fact she kept her word after all these years.
“I thought you could filter out emotions pretty well by now?”
He downed another shot. “Yeah, for the most part, unless they are loud, like here everyone is way too happy. Their happiness is pretty loud, making it difficult to filter.”
John hated crowds even before his ability, but I could see why war reports seemed more appealing to him now. A new bartender arrived, and I raised my hand to order some food. He was putting his apron on. He turned around, and my mouth gaped open.
“Elliott?”
He walked over, and his face had a huge smile. “Talon Cooper!” He ran around the bar and threw his arms around me.
“Wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again.” Elliott patted my back.
“Same here.” I directed my hand John’s way. “Elliott, this is my soon to be brother-in-law, John.”
John and Elliott shook hands.
“Brother-in-law? You’re actually letting someone marry your sister?” Elliott teased.
“Only him. In fact, we’re here for his bachelor party.”
“Hey, let’s meet up in about an hour when I get off. Grab a bite?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
I waited to order my food and realized Petra recommended this bar so I would run into Elliott. An hour later, Elliott put up his apron.
I hopped off my bar stool. “John, you alright if I head out?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
He sounded a little tipsy, which made me consider staying. My sister would kill me if something happened to him on this trip. Then again, he was a grown man, and I wanted to catch up with Elliott.
“Catch you tomorrow.”
John gave me a salute.
I saw Gabriel on my way out. “John’s headed to being drunk. Can you make sure he gets back to his room?”
“Yeah, on it.” Gabriel headed to the bar.
Elliott knew a good place that made Toanrian cuisine. Toanrians were a race who were only about two feet tall full-grown. They were covered in fur, and the color ranged from brownish-green to burnt orange. They had small faces with large eyes. They were good at anything to do with knives, including cooking. I trusted Elliott’s judgment. Not only was he heightened, but he knew food better than anyone I had ever met. We sat down and ordered our food.
“How did you end up here?” I asked.
“I finished my term and was told I could renew or go anywhere I wanted. I had been to this place before and decided to see if I could work at one of the many restaurants they have around here. I needed a break from war. It was getting to my sanity. Might eventually go back.”
“Yeah, I’m in pretty deep. They recruited my sister after she turned eighteen. She’s really good at her ability. They’ve never seen anyone like her. They won’t be letting her go. My term came up, and even if they had offered, I wouldn’t have taken it.”
“I’m sorry, man. I knew you worked so long keeping her out of this.”
“Yeah, it took me a long time to accept the entire thing, but now it’s nice having her close. How have you been holding up?” I wondered how he was coping this long after Helen’s passing.
“I’ve finally found some resemblance of function in my life. Took me a lot of time. At first, I saw Helen everywhere. Now it’s only once in a while when I least expect it. Sneaks out of nowhere and the emotions with it. Then I feel guilty that I haven’t thought about her lately. I’ve learned grief follows its path differently for everyone. There’s no right or wrong speed to grieve. It has to be at a personal pace.”
“I think Helen would be happy you’re moving forward.”
“I know she would. How’s Seraphine?”
“She’s great. As fierce and beautiful as ever.”
“I’ve thought about you guys a lot. You ever give her that baby she wanted?” He smirked.
“No, no kids for us yet. Maybe someday if this war ever slows.”
“Yeah, not the greatest universe to bring a kid into, I guess.”
Elliott and I ate our dinner and got caught up on each other’s lives. After a few hours, I went back to my room to sleep. I felt the sudden urge to track where all the guys were, but then Seraphine’s words of releasing responsibility came to mind. I quickly focused on where John was. When I saw him passed out in bed, I headed to mine to get some sleep which arrived quickly.
I heard a knock on my door and glanced at my clock. I rolled ov
er, annoyed that I was being awakened early. When I opened the door, Colin, Morgan, Gabriel, and John were all standing there. John looked like he’d been smashed over the head and I thought he’d be sleeping his hangover off for the duration of the morning.
“Aren’t you all a little early?” I made sure to have my tone indicate my irritation.
“Deron is in jail,” John said.
Now I got it. John was in command mode. Nothing sobered him up faster than a crisis he could cease. I told the guys to come inside my room so I could get my shoes on and they could tell me what was going on. Colin explained Deron had been gambling and security felt he was cheating by using his ability to win. They believed it to be a serious enough infraction that he had been taken to Scorch himself. Deron was able to get word telepathically to John.
I concentrated on seeing where he was being held, and we grabbed a cab vehicle to the prison. The prison was a concrete fortress with no windows and three doors. It would most likely prove difficult if we had to break him out.
A guard stood behind the front desk. He was almost as tall as a Khalbytian. His orange, leathery skin looked like he’d dried himself out in a tanning booth for a couple of days. His face was proportional except for his pronounced cheeks and forehead. He had no hair, and his muscles looked like they could plow us all the way through the concrete walls around us. I didn’t know what species he was, but I was happy we were equipped with built-in translators.
“May I help you?” His voice was deep, but he was amazingly polite in his greeting.
“One of my men was brought here,” John said, taking charge. He was definitely in command mode.
“Name?” The guard moved his mouse around and prepared to type on his extra-large keyboard.
“Deron Monroe.”
The guard typed and clicked. “Yes, he was brought in a couple hours ago. He’s awaiting trial. Charged with using ability to steal from Scorch.”
“Can we pay his bail?” John asked as though we were on Earth.
“Bail?” The guard tightened his broad forehead.
“Money to get him out until trial.”
The guard laughed a deep belly laugh. “That is not an option. He is carrying the sentence of death.”
“Can we negotiate that?”
“No, Scorch decides. He does not allow outsiders in the courtroom.”
“If we could talk to him, maybe we could come to an agreement.” John now had his diplomat hat on.
“No one can talk to Scorch. He will decide before the evening. If Scorch believes your friend is guilty, he will be put to death a couple hours later. The execution you can watch.”
Leaving Deron to die wasn’t an option, but I wasn’t sure a blatant display of force was ideal either. We left the prison to formulate a plan.
“Obviously we go in guns blazing, take everyone down, and get Deron out,” Morgan, who was the closest to Deron, said.
“We’ll create a galactic incident.” John was more concerned with the potential aftermath of breaking protocol.
“Let’s go talk to my friend Elliott, see if maybe he knows how to get us in to see Scorch,” I suggested, and John agreed.
We found Elliott at the bar, and he led us to a side room where we could talk privately. We sat around a large table.
Elliott began to answer our questions. “Yeah, there’s only one way to see Scorch. You have to challenge him to a game of Limstica. No one ever does because you have to wager something he really wants and it’s usually something you don’t want to give up. Scorch is the best at the game and never loses. If you challenge him, he will not be able to resist. Your friend will be found guilty and executed. Scorch can’t admit his men wrongly arrested someone. Also, it keeps everyone in check. He will keep his word and give you your friend if you win, but I don’t see how you could possibly win. “
“Can you show us the game?” John asked.
“Sure.” Elliott grabbed a deck of cards off of a shelf and shuffled them. They had weird symbols on them. He showed us the symbol key and explained what each one meant. “You have to have a better hand, like poker, but the movements are more like chess.”
John smiled. He loved games that involved strategy and wits. He was going to eat this up.
Elliot continued, “The one who makes it to the end of the board game with the highest card gets to destroy the other person’s king card and is the winner of the game.”
John practiced with Elliott and beat him each time. John was a natural, but I was concerned he couldn’t beat Scorch, who seemed to own the game. We went back to the prison.
The guard greeted us with, “I told you—you cannot see your friend.”
“I challenge Scorch to a game of Limstica,” John said confidently.
The guard looked surprised. “That’s a foolish mistake, but if you are sure?”
“I am.”
We were led back to a large room with a table and were told to take a seat. We waited a good fifteen minutes before a Loctorian walked into the room. He lacked a robe and wore black pants and a grey shirt. He reminded me of how Jerap sometimes wore human clothes.
“I hear there is a fool who wants to challenge me to Limstica. We negotiate here, and then we go to a different room. The game room is plated so you can’t cheat like your friend did.” Scorch spoke with more inflection in his voice than any other Loctorian I had ever heard.
Plated walls and ceilings shut off abilities. Fortunately, it was a scarce element, so it was unable to hinder us a lot.
“Who is the challenger?” Scorch looked us over.
John raised his hand and stepped over.
Scorch grabbed his hand. “Aww yes, the thing you love the most. A woman. She is very beautiful. I will take her if I win.”
I started to step forward, and without turning around, John put his hand behind his back, indicating I stop. He knew me well.
“She’s not mine to give. We are not married, and she is not my slave,” John said.
“Hmmm… It is unproductive to waste energy on a female you do not own. But again, I believe waste is a prominent human trait. What do you have to offer me then?”
“I will take Deron’s place if I lose.” John took Scorch’s hand. They both stared off for a few seconds.
“Yes. Yes, that’s perfect. When I win, I get you. That will displease the council, and that pleases me.”
Great, we were going to have to use brute force. No way was I letting John stay behind. Not only would the council be angry their predetermined admiral was gone, but my sister would hate me for allowing it to happen. She’d be on her way back here to take on Scorch herself. She was fearless to the point she was reckless, especially when it came to something or someone she loved. There was nothing and nobody she loved more than John.
“If you win, you can have your friend back, but for yourself, I’ll throw in one of my thirty-seven daughters. You can have your pick from five.”
John shook his head. “That’s unnecessary.”
“Hmmm… I see. Foolish human. You know it’s wise to have more than one female. If one dies, you will be left alone. Instead, I will give you a favor. I think you will need that one day, specifically due to the fact you choose only one mate.”
Scorch spoke gibberish, but John agreed to the terms. John was told he could pick two of us to be witnesses to a fair game and Scorch would have two as well. John picked Gabriel and I. We followed Scorch to the plated room. I tried to track Seraphine, and it felt like a wall was put between us. I didn’t like the feeling. My ability long ago became an essential aspect of myself.
The game went on for about an hour. John was doing a pretty good job until Scorch took two of his big player cards. I was not liking the fact that I was going to have to take on all the leather guards, and this was going to be a lot of paperwork. I wasn’t as fond of paperwork as John was. As this flowed through my head, I heard Scorch yell.
“How?!” He looked as outraged as I imagined a Loctorian could. Faci
al expressions weren’t a trait they came by naturally. If they could make them, it was usually due to close interactions with humans. Granted, Scorch was probably one of the more animated Loctorians I had ever seen. He carried himself like a 1920s American gangster.
I glanced at the board and saw, somehow, John won. I gawked in disbelief, wondering if somehow I missed the point of the game.
“How did you do it?” Scorch demanded.
John leaned back proudly in his chair, locking his hands behind his head. “Why is it so hard to believe? Is it because no one ever beats you, or is it because you took cards out of play, making it only possible for you to win.”
Scorch looked stunned. “How did you know?”
“I’m an empath. While you were busy seeing why I was a good trade, I saw why you always win. You take both destructor cards out of play, and you have one up your sleeve. Fortunately for me, I was able to even the odds.” John pulled up his sleeves to reveal cards.
“You cheated!”
“Not any more than you.” John smiled slightly, not faltering in his stance.
“Very well. But I will not concede unless you do one last task.”
“That wasn’t the agreement.” John narrowed his eyes at Scorch.
“If you want your friend back, you will do what I say. I will honor my agreement, but I want something in compensation for your trickery. There are some underground tunnels, and at the end of these tunnels is a scarce rock. I want it, but everyone I have sent has been killed by the monster that guards it. If you do this, you are free to go with your friend, and I’ll throw in that favor.”
John asked for a minute to consult his team.
“We came here for booze, women, and a good time,” Colin protested.
“I think only some of us came here for that,” John said.
Gabriel laughed. “No, some of us came here for paperwork.”
Morgan pointed out we had little choice. We could create a galactic incident and take on all of Scorch’s thug army, or we could do what he asked and hope Scorch was a Loctorian of his word. His actions thus far made me doubtful. We all decided it would be a go and if Scorch still refused to release Deron, we’d go in full force.
