by S A McClure
“How much longer do we have to wait?” Bella asked from where she stood by the fire. She was a relatively new addition to the Underworld’s family of NAs, and Amber still wasn’t sure what her power was. She had been surprised when Morta assigned the younger girl to accompany them. But, she wasn’t in a place to argue with her employer.
“We will wait until Morta signals for us to return home. Until then, make yourself comfortable,” Amber replied, her tone unusually harsh. She regretted how unkind her words sounded the moment they left her.
“But what if they never come, and Morta never calls us home?” Bella pressed.
Amber rolled her eyes at Jasper as they shared another glance. This was supposed to be a symbolic meeting to close the deal. The paperwork had already been signed and delivered electronically. But, Morta was old-fashioned and wanted the hard copies delivered to her as well.
Still, the wait made Amber’s insides flutter as she imagined all the things that could have gone wrong. She’d seen Frost only a few hours before, when he’d saved her from…whatever that woman had been. But they hadn’t had time to discuss why he was there or what had happened. Every time she thought about what would have happened if he hadn’t been there, she felt as if she were going to vomit.
She needed a distraction.
“So, Bella, tell us more about your powers.”
Bella’s cheeks turned a strange shade of orange, and her nose crinkled.
“Morta told me not to tell you until it was absolutely necessary.”
“And do you always do everything she tells you to?” Amber asked, cocking an eyebrow at the girl. “How old are you anyway?”
She didn’t look a day over fifteen, but Amber doubted the girl was that young. Then again, she reminded herself, she had only been sixteen when she landed on Thoth and needed someone to take her in. Morta had been there for her every day since then.
“I’m seventeen in three days.”
“So young,” Amber replied. Her throat caught as memories crept into the recesses of her mind.
“My parents worked on one of the mining moons orbiting Thoth,” Bella resumed. Her voice cracked a bit when she mentioned them, but she continued on as if nothing had happened. “They died in a mining accident when I was seven.”
Amber stared at the girl. She was short but sturdily built with long, auburn hair which grazed the small of her back when it wasn’t pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. A small diamond chip sparkled in her nose and eyebrow. She wore a bracelet ring over her left hand. Its dark metal glistened as the miniscule jewels embedded in it reflected the firelight. She exuded confidence and strength. But, when Amber looked close enough, she could see the sadness lingering in the girl’s eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she said after a moment’s pause. She knew what it was to lose both parents without control. Without being able to save them. She knew what it was to be alone in a world that didn’t care.
“Eh, it was a long time ago. I’m more worried about whether or not the Spade delegation is coming or not.”
Classic move. Amber had to give the girl props. Seamless deflection took years to cultivate. Before she could say as much, the sound of footsteps squelching in muck and water interrupted their conversation. Amber turned towards the door just in time to see not just the three members of Spade from before, but also someone new.
Frost looked passively at her, as if he hadn’t just saved her life hours before. He didn’t meet her gaze as the three returning members formed a line and waited for the newcomer to advance.
Her jaw dropped open as she realized that the plump, short man with balding hair and hard, cold eyes was none other than Laurie LaRue. He was only outranked by the head of the family, Justine.
He pointed a finger directly at Amber, his jowls jiggled as he yelled, “You have my son, and I want him back!”
Amber blinked. Her hair stood on end as she grasped for a way to calm the man standing before her. An ember of heat sank into her belly, slowly swelling as the stabilizers embedded in her forearms began to hum softly. Relief coursed through her as she slowly raised her hands in the air and took a step towards him. He glared at her, his teeth bared.
“I’m sure that if we all just take a seat at the table that we’ll be able to figure out a solution to this—”
“Are you slow or just stupid?” he asked as he strode towards her. Spittle coated his chin, making him look like a pig out to eat. “Your bitch of an employer stole my son. I want him back. I don’t care what you have to do. But he WILL be returned to me.” He jabbed his finger into her chest.
Heat coursed through her veins at his touch. She flinched. Gritting her teeth to stop herself from springing upon him, she took a small step back.
“Ok. So, let me get this straight. You think that Morta would actually steal your son in the middle of a negotiation to acquire your gambling syndicate?” She chuckled at her own words. “I should ask you the same thing. Are you slow or just stupid?” Amber knew she was being reckless, but she did not like being accused of something that never happened.
Laurie’s cheeks turned a vibrant red. He sputtered, clearly not used to being talked to in this manner.
Amber’s stabilizers buzzed beneath her skin, sending a spike of warmth up her arms as she stared him down. She would have to figure out why they’d failed her earlier. But for now, she was thankful that her abilities were back in action.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Guinevere step forward. Laurie held up a hand, and the girl stilled.
“I know you have my son. He attended your little party last night. Stars knows how much he bet to have caused your employer to take him. I don’t care what the debt is. I want him back.”
Amber glanced at Jasper, who shrugged. She could only think of one person who had been taken to a holding cell last night. Unfortunately, there was no chance that he could ever be returned to the LaRues. He was dead.
She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. Her body still ached from everything she’d been through over the past week. She swore she still had bruises from the shade’s attack that were now hurting anew because of the crazy woman from the tunnels.
“You’re sure your son played in the Underworld last night?” she asked. She prayed there was a chance that the man Morta had killed hadn’t been a member of the LaRue family. There was a chance he had left the casino with someone. Or crashed at a friend’s house. Just because he hadn’t come home yet didn’t mean he’d been the man Morta had killed.
“He was there,” Laurie said.
Clenching her hands tightly, Amber gave herself a moment to panic before asking, “Do you have a picture of him? There was only one person last night who ended up in our holding cell. I’d like to verify that it was him.”
He jerked his head towards Frost, who stepped forward with a holographic cube. He depressed a button on the top and beams of light shot out, producing a 3D model of who Amber presumed was Laurie’s son.
The minute she saw his beady, too narrow eyes, she knew it was the same man she’d arrested last night. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the holograph.
She contemplated lying. She didn’t owe this man anything. Not anymore. The meeting was symbolic. The deal was already done, and there was nothing they could do about it. She didn’t need to bring more trouble to the Underworld.
But, as she stared at the trembling man before her, she knew that would be the coward’s way out. All this man wanted was answers. He wanted the power to make things right again. She knew exactly how that felt. Setting her jaw, she made her decision.
“Your son made a bad bet last night at the Blackjack table.”
The man snorted. “And that’s a reason to imprison him?”
She sighed, knowing her next words were likely to cause a fight. She moved her hands behind her back and signaled to Jasper to be ready. She hoped he understood her quick signing. Morta had made all of them learn a few, key phrases in hand language for these precise mo
ments.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors. The Underworld’s motto is ‘be careful not to gamble away your soul,’ and we mean it.”
“Just give him back to me, and this can all go away,” Laurie sputtered.
Amber was surprised he hadn’t realized where this conversation was going yet. She stole a glance at Frost, whose face had become ashen. He clearly had.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing to give back. Your son bet the entirety of his life last night,” she sucked in a deep breath, knowing the man would, most likely, attack her. “He might have been able to plead for his life successfully, except that he accused one of our dealers of cheating. He threatened her and the rest of the players at his table. I’m sorry—”
“You little bitch!” Laurie screamed as he pulled a pulser pistol from his belt and aimed it directly at Amber’s head.
Great, she thought as her eyes darted around the room, searching for anything that could help her get out of this fiasco.
She continued to hold up her hands as she said in the most pacifying tone she could, “I don’t want to hurt you. But I will if it means protecting my people. Their safety is the only that matters to me right now.”
His finger tightened on the trigger. Her stabilizers hummed beneath her skin as she tried to assess what to do next. She wasn’t certain they could survive a four on three match. Her powers, while useful, had just returned, and she was certain Guinevere would do anything she could to stop Amber from influencing the fight.
“Just tell me where my son is,” Laurie demanded.
She breathed in deeply. It was now or never. “He’s dead.”
The words hung in the air as silence filled the room. For a moment, she thought the news had shocked him enough to debilitate him. But then, as if in slow motion she saw his arm jerk as he pulled the trigger.
The high-velocity dart zipped through the air at the same time a wall of ice formed in front of her face. The ice shattered into thousands of shards as the dart exploded before her. She blinked, too stunned by the realization that Frost had just saved her life to react.
She breathed in and out, her heart pounding. Her stabilizers burned beneath her skin as her body’s natural defenses took hold. She collapsed to the floor just as three more darts shot at her in quick succession, narrowly missing her.
Retrieving the replacement pistol she’d taken from Morta’s armory, she selected the darts meant to stun her opponents and released a spray of them at Guinevere and Sparrow.
A loud grunt let her know she’d struck at least one of them. Her bet was on Sparrow, since he didn’t have the ability to manipulate quantum probability. Rolling to the side, she ducked beneath the table and aimed at Laurie. She released another spray of darts. Three of them struck him in the leg, sending him reeling to the ground.
Two down, two to go. Or was it one? She scanned the room to find Frost and Bella locked in a fight. Jasper was nowhere to be seen. She could only hope that he’d managed to slip from the room and call for help.
Movement at her side drew her attention just as Guinevere threw a punch at her jaw. The impact sent her head lolling to the side. Disoriented, Amber swung haphazardly around the room. By pure dumb luck, she managed to make a connection.
Her knuckles ached as she withdrew her hand. She discharged a dart in the same direction as her hit. There was a sizzling sound as it struck its target at close range. Guinevere slumped on the ground, a bruise covering one cheek. She twitched slightly when Amber poked her. Her chest rose and fell, so she wasn’t dead.
Amber didn’t hesitate. There was only one left.
She looked up in time to see Bella hit Frost with a ball of purple flame. It glittered as it melted away an ice shield he’d formed around himself.
Although she was still dizzy from Guinevere’s hit, Amber rushed forward and placed herself between Frost and Bella.
“Wait!” she screamed, throwing her hands up. “Bella, he saved my life. You have to give him a chance to explain.”
Bella looked between the two of them, her eyes widening and a frown cresting her lips.
“You and him?” she asked, her voice full of disbelief. “You would betray her like that?”
She didn’t have to say her name for Amber to know the girl meant Morta.
“It’s not like that,” she stammered. Her cheeks were on fire and she knew that if she were looking in the mirror they would be crimson. “I swear.”
Bella took a step backwards. “How can I believe you?” she asked. “He saved your life for what? Because he cares for you with unrequited love? How romantic,” she spat the last word like it was disgusting to even consider.
Amber was getting really sick and tired of people assuming things about her that weren’t true. What did this girl even know about her, other than that she had idealized her for years?
“Look, kid, I didn’t ask for any of this. Trust me when I say that I don’t want us to fight. Okay? He saved my life,” she paused, “twice now. In a single day. The least I owe him is a chance to explain himself.”
A ball of flame formed between Bella’s fingers. The hair on the back of Amber’s neck soared as she regarded the girl. Of course Morta would send an excessively loyal, though rather lunatic-worthy, minion to help with this deal.
“Bella,” she warned as she pointed her pistol at the girl.
“Which do you think is faster? Your dart or my fireball?”
“I would rather not test that question,” Amber admitted. “Listen, I’ll drop my pistol if you diminish your flame. Is that a deal?”
They stared at each other for several moments. Without Guinevere to intervene, Amber was confident she would be able to evade the fireball. Her natural abilities would kick in and save her the way they always had. Either that or Frost would save her again. She forced herself not to look at him, instead remaining solely focused on Bella.
Slowly, the purple flames began to weaken. Amber lowered her arm and clicked the safety back into place on her pistol as the last of the fire disappeared entirely. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“This doesn’t mean I won’t char you in the future,” Bella hissed.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
A smile crept along Amber’s lips. She saw so much of herself in this girl, it wasn’t even funny. She wondered if this was the reason Morta had chosen Bella to accompany her and Jasper to the final meeting.
Frost cleared his throat behind her, and she turned to meet his gaze. He smiled sheepishly at her. “Thanks for saving me,” he said.
She shrugged. “It was nothing.”
He closed the gap between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. “No, it wasn’t. Don’t say that.” He pulled her into an embrace for the second time that day. Her stomach cramped at the hug.
She still didn’t like being touched.
Gently, she shoved against his chest to create space between them. “I didn’t get to say it earlier. Thank you for saving my life. Twice now.”
“Consider us almost even,” he joked.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Sure.”
“Gross,” Bella said. “Get a room or something, why don’t you.”
Amber spun around to glare at her, but Bella had already turned her back on them and was crouched over Guinevere. Amber assumed she was checking for a pulse.
“Do you have the physical papers?” she asked, turning her attention back to Frost.
He shook his head.
Amber swept her arm across the room. “How are you going to explain this to Justine?”
He shrugged.
“Are you going to answer me? I think this is kind of an important thing.”
His blue eye glowed slightly as he lifted his chin to meet her eyes. “This can only mean one thing, Amber. War. Between our syndicates.”
She shook her head, not wanting to believe what she already knew. She’d known it the moment she’d seen that man’s face glowing in the hologram. Morta had killed on
e of the LaRue family members and would have to pay for it.
“We can stop it,” she began. “We can explain—”
“—explain what? That your master is a cold-hearted bitch who kills for pleasure? She’s a sociopath, Fortuna.”
She slapped him even before she knew what she was doing. “How dare you!” she snapped. “You don’t even know her!”
“I know enough! She didn’t have to kill him. But she chose to anyway.”
His words gave her pause. Morta was a killer. But she also showed mercy, when mercy was due.
“Tell Justine that the deal is still on, with or without the physical copies. We already have the digital versions, as do our lawyers. There’s no way she reclaim her casinos now. It would be best for everyone if the LaRues left Thoth and never returned.”
He shook his head at her. “If you really think they’ll accept his murder without penance, then you’re a fool.”
“I can’t change what happened, Frost,” she shrugged. “But I can offer you a chance to be on the winning side. You saved my life. I know I’ll be able to petition Morta to let you stay with us.”
“As if I would ever align with that”—he glowered at her—“abomination.”
Amber scowled at him. Morta was many things, but she was not an object of disgust.
“Fine. Then you’ll die with the rest of them if any member of the LaRue family attacks us again. I will ask Morta to forgive this transgression, since it was clear Laurie was under high distress. But, let me be very clear, Frost. If he attacks again, there won’t be a next time.”
He smirked at her, an infuriating gleam in his eye. “I’m sure the LaRues will be delighted to hear that they finally have an excuse to put Morta in her place.”
Amber hesitated for a moment, hoping Frost would change his mind. When he didn’t, she motioned for Bella to follow her from the room.
“For what it’s worth,” she said, as she passed him, “I hope I never see you again.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sirens blasted and lights flashed brilliant white, pulling Amber from her slumber. Groggily, she pressed a button on her bracelet, and a holographic image burst to life in front of her.
