by TR Cameron
The Mist emphasized the beauty of nature that the Mist Elves prized. Spirit honored their traditions, their connection to previous generations, and the mysteries of the universe. The decorations were dark in places where sections of the casino looked like stars in the night sky. Others were bright and joyful, like what you felt on a summer day. Overall, the designs tended toward neutrality. The escalator was in what looked like a mountain that climbed the back of the casino. Vapor occasionally seeped out of the top to suggest active things inside. Real trees carefully cultivated by a small army of workers appeared throughout the gaming floors and the tier of restaurants and shops above them. From her perspective, the way the light fell off as your gaze traveled from the center of the space to the edges was an obvious but effective tactic: a psychological play to make leaving the casino and crossing that boundary seem subtly dangerous. It was both a reference to the idea that one could find spirits at thresholds and a clever business move.
As she stepped off the escalator on the bottom floor, she switched into avoidance mode. The human and nonhuman tourists who frequented the casinos in Magic City tended not to be aware of their surroundings, distracted by the gaming, libations, the scenery, or all of the above. Moving through them without contact was a challenge, and she had no interest in interacting with any of them this morning. She had a purpose, and it lay at the other end of the Ely Strip. She headed for the tram at the back and caught one right before its automatic doors closed. Next stop, the Mist.
Other businesses might close after something like the events of the day before. Not a casino, though. Employees, managers, and owners alike wouldn’t allow anything short of the act of a vengeful deity to shut them down, and an attempted robbery didn’t begin to approach that standard. They’d cordoned off the areas where the explosions occurred with a velvet rope and metal poles, and workers quietly removed debris and patched up walls and columns. More tourists surrounded the tables and sat in front of the slot machines than she expected. Apparently, they were interested in the event rather than scared by it. Good for you, unless there’s another surprise planned for the Mist. I certainly won’t have a drink here again anytime soon.
She hopped up at intervals to peer over the crowds, searching for her quarry. I need to get boots with some damn heels on them. She found them near the casino cage. small yellow numbered markers covered its exterior. Sheriff Alejo stood talking things over with another uniformed officer, not the same one as the day before. Ruby sidled up behind them and waited for a pause in the conversation. As if she had eyes in the back of her head, the woman turned at her arrival. “Miss Achera. Interesting to find you here.”
Ruby shrugged. “I don’t get blown up every day. I wanted to see this all for myself since I wasn’t really capable yesterday.” She felt her expression turn down. “Plus, it seems like I owe it to the people who died to at least be here for a minute to remember them.”
The other woman tilted her head. “Did you know any of the deceased?”
“No. I haven’t even heard their names yet. It still matters.” She lifted a hand and let it fall. “I don’t know how to say that any better.”
Alejo’s expression softened a touch. “You don’t have to. I get it. Believe me.”
Ruby drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly, collecting herself. “So, have you found anything that makes this make any kind of sense?”
“What do you mean?” Her tone shifted again, and Ruby knew that Alejo was now interrogating her despite the neutral sound of the other woman’s voice.
She crossed her arms and gave the officer a level look under lowered eyebrows. “You know exactly what I mean. This was stupid with a capital “S.” If they wanted to steal money, this was an idiotic way to do it. If they wanted to knock the place out of business, they didn’t do nearly enough to accomplish that. Doesn’t make sense.”
Alejo matched her posture. “Okay, let’s agree it doesn’t make sense. What else could it be?”
“You’re the expert.”
“Not on casinos.”
Ruby smiled. “Ah, you’re suspicious since my family owns the other Mist Elf place in town.”
The sheriff matched her expression almost perfectly. “I wouldn’t say suspicious.”
She laughed. “Right. Like that’s not your default setting. Okay, let’s pretend you’re neutral. From the perspective of someone involved with casinos, it makes even less sense. It didn’t close the place. They simply cordoned off the damage and moved the customers to a different part. They had no chance of making it out with the cash even if they got it out of the cage.”
Alejo sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Okay, then, why do you think they did it?”
Ruby was well aware that the woman had switched her question back on her. She pulled a thread from the discussion with her roommates. “Publicity, maybe?”
The sheriff laughed darkly. “Kind of a weird way to get attention. More expensive than driving a billboard truck down the street, that’s for sure.”
“Exactly. As I said, doesn’t make sense. On its own, at least.”
The other woman’s eyes narrowed. “You think this might be part of something bigger?”
Ruby decided to quit trying to spar with her verbally and lay it on the line. “I can’t see any reason for it on its own. So logically, it must be part of something else. Or the people who did it were total morons, but they seemed awfully organized and prepared.”
Alejo nodded. “You make a lot of sense, and I have to say, my thoughts run in the same direction. Maybe you could sound out your family about it? I don’t really have any reason to talk to them, and generally speaking, casino owners aren’t the chattiest types unless you have a warrant, a subpoena, or there’s been an incident.” She gestured around her.
“Information-sharing?”
“Sure. I’ll trade you facts on a one-for-one basis, within the bounds of my job.”
Ruby shrugged. “Can’t ask for more than that. I’ll go now and see if I can catch someone at work.”
Alejo gave her a piercing look, as if measuring her honesty, then bestowed a final nod upon her. “Sounds good.”
She headed for the tram with a sigh, feeling a headache coming on. Arrived with questions, leaving with responsibilities. I don’t know who’s behind this nonsense, but they’re going to pay. Oh, yes, dire vengeance for inconveniencing me will be mine.
Chapter Eight
During the tram ride, her headache not only failed to get better but moved in the opposite direction instead. By the time she disembarked at Spirit, pain radiated throughout her entire head and face, and an ache had developed in her shoulders. She gritted her teeth and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, only occasionally banging into other people along her path. Murmured apologies to the blurs she rebounded from were all she could manage.
She made it onto the escalator and kept her balance up to the third floor, which she considered nothing short of a miracle. A college friend had gotten migraines and described one symptom as a narrowing of vision, which made her pretty sure she was experiencing one. The area before her turned into a tunnel, fuzzy at the edges, and even the parts that remained clear seemed to waver.
She made it up the stairs and into the executive offices, waved at the assistant at the desk, and headed for the office in the back. She managed to stay upright until she got there, choked out, “Hi Dad,” to the man seated behind the large table in the center of the huge room, and collapsed as her vision first went totally blurry, then completely black.
When she finally climbed the long tunnel that led to consciousness, she was in her bedroom in the family home. She realized it immediately because it was the only place she’d ever had a canopy bed, and since she wasn’t outside, those couldn’t be clouds over her head. Good work, Ruby. At least your four-year-old-level logic is still fully functional. She propped herself up on her elbows, expecting that a wash of pain would accompany the action and pleasantly surprised whe
n it failed to materialize.
She was even more pleased to find Morrigan sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the bed, watching her with a smile. If she’s smiling, I’m probably not going to die. If it were Dralen there with a grin, I’d be less confident. Plus, she’d hope that if she were on her deathbed, at least one of her two parents, or maybe a healer, might be present. “What’s up, munchkin?”
Her sister replied by sticking out her tongue. “If you die, can I have your stuff?”
Ruby gave her the fierce scowl the comment deserved. “No. I demand that it all be buried with me so I can use it in the afterlife.”
“Rude.” Morrigan tossed her head dramatically. “You should be nice to me, or I’ll let the pain-dampening magic I’m holding fall. Then you’ll be all whiny and weepy and probably pass-out-y.”
Ruby sat up and lifted her hands. “I surrender. Anything you want of mine is yours, should I no longer be around to use it.”
Morrigan grinned. “Good. I’ll ask Matthias to draw up a contract.”
A laugh escaped Ruby. Then she laughed some more, this time in relief when it didn’t hurt. “What the hell happened?”
“You passed out. Mom and Dad said it’s not fatal, and I should let them know when you were awake so they could talk to you. I did that when you first opened your eyes, and they’ll be up in thirty minutes or so, after their afternoon reading session.” The look on her face conveyed her doubtful opinion of that excuse. “I’ll stay here and keep you from passing out if you want to take a shower or something.”
“You’re a good sister, but you’re still short.”
“Whatever, Casper.”
Ruby winced theatrically. “Rude. Nasty. Evil. You have learned well, young Morrigan.” Her sister was the only one allowed to call her by the reclaimed insult, and she sketched a slight bow as Ruby passed on the way to the shower.
Instead of waiting, Ruby found her way down to the study where her parents awaited her, seated in two of the four leather wingback chairs that faced each other over a low table. A teapot sat in the center, and she immediately recognized the scent of the herbal brew used to fortify magic. It didn’t do a whole lot, but every bit of energy she could add to her stockpile was welcome due to the constant expenditure required to maintain her disguise. That’s one of the first things I’m going to make once I get the lab set up, some sort of illusion power repository. She pushed that idea back into the mental file cabinet with her other future projects and sat across from them.
The room had two large windows on the wall opposite her, and leather furniture, tapestries on the walls, tables big enough to hold the complicated board games they all loved to play, and other creature comforts outfitted the rest. Of the entire house, it was the space that felt the most lived-in, the one she most associated with being home, other than her bedroom.
She lifted the heavy mug to her lips and took a deep drink. “Sorry for the drama.”
Her father laughed. “It’ll be the talk of the casino for days, I’m sure.”
Ruby winced. “Nikolas saw?”
He nodded. “You know what a gossip he is. By now, the entire place has heard about it.”
“Excellent. So, I’d kind of expected that if I woke up at all, I’d be in the hospital, or at the healer’s, or something. What’s the deal?”
Her mother grinned. “You’ve been given an amazing gift, Ruby.”
She barked a laugh. “Migraines? I don’t think ‘gift’ is the word I’d use. Probably more like ‘curse.’ Or ‘affliction.’”
Her father lifted an eyebrow. “Or perhaps due punishment? Karma’s a bitch, as they say. I’m sure you weren’t a saint while you were away at college. Maybe fate is balancing the scales.”
Sinnia swept out a long arm to slap her husband’s shoulder with the back of her hand. “Hush, Rayar. This is no time for stupid jokes.” She met Ruby’s eyes. “You’re being called.”
“Well, whoever it is could have used the phone. Knocking me out wasn’t required.” She sighed at the end of the automatic sarcasm. “How do you mean? By who? To do what?”
Her father replied, “By Oriceran. To return and undertake your venamisha.”
She blinked, stunned. “Wait. What?”
Her mother nodded. “You’re the right age, and the symptoms you exhibit are the appropriate ones.”
The historical tales of the Mist Elves included many stories of the venamisha. It took different forms and meant different things, depending on the story, but it was always a trip or a quest of some kind that led the person undertaking it both inward and outward. The closest analogue she’d seen in Earth literature was a vision quest or spirit quest, but neither of those encompassed the whole of it. It was like those, plus a pilgrimage, plus a death curse, all in one. “So what you’re saying is that I either go back to Oriceran, or the thing in my head will eventually kill me.”
They nodded, and her mother replied, “That’s how the venamisha works.”
“Have either of you ever done one?” It hadn’t ever occurred to her to ask them. She’d never known someone who was called or heard of anyone outside the stories who’d had the experience.
Both shook their heads in reply. Her father added, “The last confirmed calling was more than a century ago, but of course, there’s no way to be sure. One of the mystics might have been called but not shared it.” That secretive group of Mist Elves was most appropriately compared to monks on Earth, from what she knew, although she’d never visited their home or spoken to one of them.
“Okay. So, no options is what you’re saying. As I remember, it’s something I must do alone because anything else would be far less dramatic and story-worthy.” She pushed down the sarcasm with an effort. “So, do I have to do it with a headache trying to knock me out the whole time?”
Her mother answered, “No, the pain will go away once you’re back on Oriceran, for a while at least. Long enough for you to do whatever you’re being called to do.”
“But we don’t know what that is.”
A shrug from her father. “The stories say it’s always personal to the one called. You can probably be reasonably sure that nothing you’ve read about will happen again, but beyond that, it’s supposed to be unique.”
Ruby closed her eyes and finished her tea, then leaned her head into the corner of the chair’s tall back. The cool leather felt good. “Okay, well, you should probably be aware I’ve promised Morrigan she can have all my stuff if I don’t survive.”
They laughed, and her mother commented, “That child is trouble.”
Her father added, “No more than Ruby was at her age.” He pointed at her. “Certainly not more than you are now.”
She frowned. “I am not trouble. I just seem to attract more excitement than my share.” Actually, she felt decidedly troublesome and decided that maybe more than one revelation might be on the table. “So, have we hidden my heritage all this time because of something to do with the venamisha?”
Her father frowned at her mother, then shook his head. “It is perhaps related, but not a case of cause and effect. We know that you’re troubled by not knowing.” He chuckled softly. “I don’t suppose you’d believe that we’re magically unable to talk about it, would you?”
Ruby shook her head. “No, afraid not.”
Her mother said, “Please bear with us for a little longer. Once you’ve completed the venamisha, perhaps we can reveal it. Know that it’s for your good.”
“Uh-huh. Just like always. Okay, you’ve got a deal. I’ll chill out about it for a while. But not for a long while, if you get my drift.” She sighed, then remembered her earlier conversation. “Hey, I was coming to see you for a reason. I spoke with Sheriff Alejo, and she wondered if you might have any insight into why someone would do what they did at the Mist.”
Sinnia looked thoughtful. “So, she thinks it wasn’t simply a robbery?”
“Nope. That doesn’t make sense. They couldn’t have hoped to get away with it.”
Ruby nodded. “That’s my conclusion, too. I think the sheriff’s as well.”
He straightened in his chair. “I can’t imagine it’s one of the council members.” The casino owners all also held positions on the council that oversaw both the city and the kemana. “That means it’s probably an outsider.”
“Human organized crime?”
Her father shrugged. “Maybe. Or perhaps other magicals with an agenda. Might be working with someone local, I suppose. We’ll have to discuss this and possibly increase our security in all the casinos in response.”
Sinnia ventured, “Could that have been the objective? Cause a need for more security?”
Ruby nodded. “Seems possible. That might result in strangers with expanded access in our places.”
Rayar replied, “Well, all we can do is what we can do. Add floor security with minimal access, move our trusted staff to expanded access. I’ll talk it over with the others. Fortunately, there’s a bunch of private security companies that have been looking for additional work. It shouldn’t be a problem to find people.”
Her mother beamed at her. “We’ll have it all figured out by the time you get back. No time like the present to find out what your venamisha has in store for you.” She almost vibrated with excitement. “My daughter, called. Who would have thought it?”
