Knights Apocalyptica

Chapter 150: Double Date

Let now thy pride and coyness end, since ended is the strength

Of him on whom they were discharged, be satisfied at length

That Love, since he desires that all his votaries should enjoy

Their life, and act as safety bids, is angry with the coy;

Time must pass on, remorse will come for treatment so severe,

Anguish and shame remain for thee, I know it and I fear;

For though I sorrow for myself, since thou must bear a part

For thy disdains, these sorrows pierce more sensibly my heart.

-Garcilasso De La Vega, To His Lady, (1528, 2nd Era)

Enide flew through the strip like a gale across the wasteland. She flowed by scantily clad dancers, through clubs, and by all the street performances and shows on the strip. All of brushing past them in a haze of joy and jokes that left Erec reeling, especially after the long discussion with the Council.

Everywhere they went was another distraction. Another thing yanking their attention. Lights, sounds, and action. People rushed around from street shows to betting. Enide got into a drinking contest with strangers.

They kept stopping to introduce and meet new people—prompted by Garin giving out the odd compliment and following through with a conversation.

From it all, Erec gathered one fact. Everyone in Vega came here for something. Whether it was to meet new connections, find a job, or gamble away life savings. You named it, someone was here for it. There was no floor for degeneracy to get too low, nor a ceiling high enough to encompass what noble reasons a tribe person might’ve wandered to this city for.

Yet, all the same, they got sucked into the strip.

Movement was the key to this city. A constant churn of life and culture that flowed and ebbed throughout its nights. In a word, exhausting. In another word, exhilarating.

From venue to venue, they wandered, and eventually towards the end of the night they found themselves in a casino. A place with a massive guitar on the outside, shining in neon red and blue. Erec brought along two-hundred chips, but while buying strangers and Enide drinks, he’d whittled it down.

Enide brought them to a table, and they settled in there for some time. A dealer wearing a fine suit facing them.

Despite all the flashing lights in the casino, the world of this table and being with his friends was a welcome relief from the chaos of the night. He’d barely tracked all the places they’d been, but now it was time to settle and breathe.

Erec nursed his second drink, opting to watch Garin and Enide play instead of gambling himself.

“Hit,” Enide called, taping the table. She had two cards up. A three and a queen.

The dealer flipped over an eight, and Enide smirked.

“Blackjack!” she announced, grabbing Erec by the chin and planting a kiss right on his lips. He was still blinking as she pulled away and scooped in a pile of chips to her part of the table. Garin let out a sigh as he busted;

Olivia sighed and set a hand on his, giving it a squeeze. Like Erec, she didn’t want to bet either.

“How are you so lucky?” Garin asked.

“If I was lucky, we’d be driving out of Vega tomorrow,” Enide said.

“You mean if Seven-Snakes hadn’t escaped?”

“You heard the guy. It wasn’t an escape.” She tapped her nose and looked at the dealer. If the man cared about anything other than passing out cards and taking their money, he didn’t show it.

“You’d really leave so soon?” Erec asked.

“Yeah. I mean, we left them waiting long enough. Maybe it might take a little longer than a day, but we’d be setting up our plans, and then soon enough we’d be in, just gotta drag a couple of Council Members with us.”

“So this is where we’ll part ways, then,” Erec said, feeling a thrum of sadness run through him. Though he and Garin plotted, they’d yet to find the right argument to convince Boldwick that going with the Pendragons was in there. Given that the Duke and Boldwick would now negotiate with an eager Council, he was worried.

Enide frowned and leaned in. Pushing some of her stack of chips in front of Erec, she gave a wink to the dealer, who shuffled.

“Part ways, huh?” she asked.

“It was inevitable. You two both knew it. As tragic as it is, since you’re not part of the Kingdom, your betrothal was never on the table.” Olivia said.

“The thing is, I don’t know about you slinger, but I don’t think I’m done with this. Think we’re just getting started.” Enide’s hand slid down Erec’s leg, resting on his thigh. Her eyes locked on his, even as the dealer flicked out cards. In front of him was a six and a queen.

“I—“

“Even if you get dragged back to the Kingdom of yours, would you come out to see me? Play in the wild a bit?” she asked.

“…If I could,” Erec said, and she moved closer. She had the faint smell of flowers; perfume?

Enide whispered in his ear, “Hit.”

He tapped his hand on the table, transfixed. Olivia swirled her glass and frowned as she watched, while Garin was sorting out his own hand, trying to figure out whether to hit or stay. The dealer tossed out another card—a five. Blackjack, again.

“We’re good together, you and I. Nothing has to get in our way if we don’t want it to. If I said I could get us a car, would you be willing to go with me? Just you and I, into the desert? After this vault stuff. We can be alone and not need anyone else.” She kept whispering.

His heart ran in circles as she pressed closer, the dealer sliding even more chips in front of him. The way she smelled, that promise of freedom that would only take a single yes. All he would have to do was to give way and go with her. They could be happy—he saw it now, a life together alone flashing across the wasteland in a car. All of his problems would be thrown to the side in favor of pure joy. They could be like the wind, free, unconstrained. If they wanted.

Enide pulled back, eyes round and a wide smile on her face. “Oh, we won again!”

That made it nearly fifteen times that she’d won a big bet in this game. The pile in front of her had steadily grown much larger. The dealer behind the table shuffled uncomfortably and looked past their table. Someone was coming up. A group of someone. All of them wearing suits; Enide swept away the chips from the table.

“Think we’ll be headed out now. What do you say, guys?”

“Yeah, I lost enough,” Garin waved her off, stuffing away his own chips into a pouch.

Only, by the time Enide finally had everything packed away, a crew of men and women in suits had reached the table. One of them wore sunglasses and a hat with quite the brim. He gave them a small bow, and then, in a deep tone, spoke. “Would you lot mind coming with me? Our pit boss noticed something suspicious at your table.”

“Hmm,” Enide said, tilting her head, “Don’t think so, kinda feeling tired. Think we’ll be heading out.”

“…Call it this, hand over what you won. Counting cards is not tolerated in this establishment, but if you generously leave your winnings, we’ll call it square.”

“Bullshit, I didn’t count cards.”

[She did. I was too, since tracking the probabilities was easy and I was curious. She only placed large bets when she had an advantage, except for that last one. Honestly, this girl is clever. I kind of admire it. So effortless. Careful, buckeroo, there’s a lot going on under the surface of that one.]

The man stood taller, and the surrounding people were spreading out. Olivia took a position behind Enide and whispered a question Erec didn’t catch in her ear. Enide only nodded back at her. The situation quickly spiraled, and he didn’t even understand why. The sudden intensity sparked his Fury. Whether she counted cards wasn’t that important to him. The man coming up and threatening them was enough.

Did he want a fight?

“I suggest you get out of our way. We’re leaving.” Erec said.

“The hell is counting cards?” Garin asked.

“You will not be leaving.” The man insisted.

“Listen, even if someone were counting cards, the Magi have no rules against it. Quite the contrary, it’s legal in Vega. No one used magic; no one cheated, so you coming up and throwing unproven accusations is frankly bullshit. Wanna test this with someone with authority? Because if so, I fucking dare you. Ask one of the blue cloaks to come in and sort this,” Enide said, stepping right next to Erec. He felt her bristle and the rage rolling off her was nothing but a bad influence to his own. A fuel to his fire. It didn’t help that from the sound of it, this man was basically extorting them.

“That is unnecessary.”

“Because you know we’d be walking out of here if you did.”

“Listen. Hand over the chips. This is the last time I’ll be asking politely.” The man insisted, a hand reaching towards a club at his side.

Erec couldn’t believe it.

They were going to get in a fight in the middle of Vega? Boldwick’s inevitable disapproving lecture flashed through his mind, before being burned up by the Fury, and drifting away as ashes in the wind. This wasn’t on them. From the way Enide spoke, the lay of the land was clear. The casino was trying to violate whatever the rules were for their benefit, and take advantage of them—how foolish of them.

Seeing how the situation would spiral outward, Erec cut through the bullshit.

He stepped forward and smashed a fist right into the face of the man who was drawing a weapon, literally beating him to the punch.