Chapter Five
A heavy sigh punctuated the air.
``Son of a...'' Eda began, finishing her thought with an exhausted sigh instead of words.
Raine's grip tensed and their hand fell away.
``Sorry, sorry,'' Raine said, taking a step back. ``Too much?''
``No, no.'' Eda shook her head. ``I just... I... I think I figured out where Luz is?''
``Luz?'' Raine asked.
Eda turned to face them. ``My apprentice.''
Without further comment, she did an about face and started marching back towards the casino they had just left. Each step felt purposeful as they balled their hands into fists, feeling the electric tingle of magic course through their digits and into the palms of her hands.
``Where are you going?'' Raine called.
Eda snorted. ``I'm going to be responsible for once in my stupid life. You want to tag along?''
Raine froze in place. ``Is it going to be dangerous?''
``Oh Raine,'' Eda said, pausing her stride to wink at them. ``Don't you know me at all?''
Raine rolled their eyes and cast a quick cantrip, conjuring their violin from the ether. As it settled into their hands, a resolute smile coloured their lips. They surrendered a single nod and signed away their allegiance.
Eda grinned and returned to her advance. ``So, do you want the long or short version of events?''
``The short should suffice,'' Raine said.
Soon their stride matched Eda's as the two of them walked in tandem.
Eda looked over at them and smirked. It really was nice to go back to the good old days of being a team.
``So, I got caught cheating at redjack,'' Eda said.
Raine snorted. ``Your spells weren't good enough to get past security?''
``Look it's been a while since I've been to the Gambler's Den,'' Eda grumbled, shaking her head. ``I'm a little rusty when it comes to cheating. So, sue me.''
Raine smirked but didn't comment.
``Anyways,'' Eda continued. ``I get hauled off by security and interrogated by this guy named Elliot. They wanted me to sabotage your show and as leverage they kidnapped Luz and King.''
``Who's King?'' Raine asked before cocking their brow. ``And why do they even want to sabotage my show in the first place?''
``Something about casino rivalries or something like that,'' Eda grumbled, shaking her head. ``I don't know, I kind of zoned out until they got to the part where they had my kids.''
``And what happened after that?'' Raine asked.
Eda stopped midstride, trying to recall what exactly did happen after that. Though this seemed to be the last little hole in her memories.
How big could that gap have honestly been? Ten hours at most?
She sighed. ``I can't remember.''
``Emperor's sake,'' Raine grumbled. ``How much apple blood did you have last night?''
``Unimportant,'' Eda retorted, waving her hand.
They finally reached their prior hotel. The same bird vendor and immovable statues were both there, plying their illicit little trades.
``Would you have done it?'' Raine asked.
Eda paused and glanced at them. ``Would I have done what?''
``Would you have ruined my show?'' Raine asked.
She'd do anything for her kids. She'd burn any bridge if it meant saving them.
But what was one little white lie amongst an ocean of them?
Eda shook her head. ``Nah, there are about a hundred different ways to solve any problem. Just wish I knew why it took me so long to figure out a solution to this one.''
``And what would that solution be?'' Raine asked.
Eda smirked. ``Keep cracking open heads until someone finally gives me my kids back?''
She reached for the casino's door but didn't push inside. Instead, she cast a quick illusion spell, applying a fresh bushy mustache to Raine's face.
Raine's gaze narrowed. ``Really?''
``What? They're your business rivals,'' Eda said. ``I don't want to alert them to anything suspicious.'' She chuckled darkly. ``Well, I mean, more than I already have...''
With that taken care of, she pushed inside and stepped onto the busy casino floor.
It was still the midmorning but the operation was already in full swing with most of the tables and machines occupied by a wide assortment of clients. Security guards loitered about and a few of them looked in her general direction.
They then looked past her and at Raine. Upon spotting them, they started to reach for their scabbards or began to call upon their spells. Though they didn't cast them quite yet.
``I don't think your disguise is working,'' Raine whispered, glaring at her.
Eda snorted. ``Relax, it's so bad that they won't believe that either of us could've possibly conjured it.''
``That...'' Raine shook their head. ``You know what? Never mind.''
They continued ahead, always under the watchful eye of the hotel security. Still the goons didn't act, not even taking a step towards them as they reached the site of Eda's prior incident.
``Can I ask you a question?'' Eda asked.
Raine cocked a brow. ``Go for it.''
``Did you put the room under your name?'' Eda asked, biting her lip as she glanced at them. ``Please tell me that you didn't.''
Raine actually chuckled. ``I know you far too well to do something like that, Eda.'' They then winked at her. ``It's under a Norman Black.''
``Thank god,'' Eda whispered.
Raine brought their violin into position, without prompt, proving that they really knew her far too well.
Eda smirked. ``You're learning, Raine Storm.''
She snapped her fingers and conjured a fireball from the ether. It grew to about the size of a baseball before she sent it flying towards the ruined remains of the redjack table. It impacted and engulfed it in an inferno with debris exploding outwards in all directions.
The act sent the room into chaos as patrons screamed and fled away from the scene of violence. Embers soon caught and the fire spread outwards, increasing its mayhem immensely.
Raine's posture tensed. ``You so owe me for this one.''
``Add it to the tab,'' Eda replied, flashing them a tight little smile.
The thunder of footsteps came from all directions and the two of them went back-to-back to cover their flanks. Eda raised her fists while Raine drew the violin's bow into position, readying themself to send an explosive note flying at the first guard that got any funny ideas.
``I almost feel sorry for them,'' Eda teased.
Raine snorted. ``Almost?'' They smirked. ``I do feel bad for them.''
The masked security guards formed a perimeter around them and Raine's smile only grew. They played a simple note and a shockwave ruptured forth, knocking all of them away and sending more than a few flying into nearby tables and machines.
Their weight made them pretty effective projectiles as more of the casino was smashed and ruined with every passing impact.
``Let's get your apprentice back,'' Raine chided.
Eda nodded. ``Let's.''
Yesterday Night
``It's! It's! It's a Ballroom Blitz.''
Eda watched from the rafter, looking down at the stage performance. A few actors danced with one another as a band played a frantic tune. The assortment of outfits was truly beautiful, looking high-class with abundant colours and glamour.
It was like a parody of royalty, a mockery of wealth.
This was Raine at their finest.
Eda grimaced as she watched the scene come to an end. The few people watching the pre-show performance clapped, including Raine themselves.
``Good scene!'' Raine called. ``Now Veronika!''
One of the actresses paused.
``Yes, Raine?'' she asked.
Raine clambered upon the stage and approached her. ``I uh... I don't...''
Veronika chuckled. ``A little off on one of my notes?''
``You were a couple strides delayed on the second half of the song,'' Raine explained, rubbing at their hair. ``Nothing too serious but...''
Veronika smirked. ``Raine, don't be so nervous. Can't fix my mistakes if you don't tell me about them, right?''
Raine drew in a breath and let out a nervous note of laughter. ``True.''
Their voice lowered, becoming just a murmur that Eda couldn't hope to hear from this far away.
She drummed her fingers against the metal supports that held up the lighting, feeling something unpleasant churn within her stomach. This wasn't a pleasant situation to be in. Not even in the slightest.
On one hand, she had two kids who were currently counting on her. On the other hand, there was Raine Storm.
They deserved this show, they deserved the world and here Eda was trying to scope out a way to ruin it for them.
Hell, she was doing a lot more than just scoping. She'd already spotted about a dozen different ways she could ruin things for their opening night. There were pins on the stage that could weaken it and cause it to come crashing down. There were instruments that could be messed around with. There were musicians and actors who could be given food poisoning.
Each method would be effective but each also felt like a black mark added to her soul for even thinking about them.
But what mark was blacker than letting her children down?
Eda wanted to growl but knew that would give away her position. Instead, she merely sighed and looked off to the side.
That's when she noticed that another figure stood in one of the many box seats that looked down upon the stage. They hadn't been there before.
They also looked like a pirate?
Which was weird since they weren't even close to any major bodies of water. Why would there be...
Eda rolled her eyes.
Right, they were in the Gambler's Den.
They seemed to be in a pretty similar position to Eda, remaining on the fringes, trying to stay out of sight and out of mind. It made sense, there were a dozen different casinos on the strip and each was trying to one up the others at all times. Why wouldn't someone else send a saboteur like herself?
There was then a glint as the pirate drew, what looked like a flintlock pistol, out of their pocket.
Eda's gaze narrowed.
Or apparently, they were sending in assassins as they weren't nearly as subtle.
Eda moved before any rational thoughts could cross her mind, crawling quickly along the beam. Thankfully, her target didn't seem to notice her as they were utterly focused on the show in front of them.
``Don't fire, don't fire,'' Eda growled under her breath.
She made it to the edge of the beam and launched herself at that particular booth. Her arch was a bit shallow but a quick burst of magic carried her the last little bit of distance as she plowed into the figure like an organic cannonball.
The two of them fell away in a tangle of limbs and bodies. Though thankfully the pistol had not been fired.
Eda's head spun and body ached as the purest form of rage flooded into her blood like ice.
``What the hell,'' the pirate growled. ``I had my shot.''
Eda snarled at him. ``Were you trying to kill them?''
The pirate didn't answer and instead launched themselves at Eda.
Eda wasn't a fighter but she also wasn't unfamiliar with brawling either. She dodged to the side and launched her elbow into the pirate's back. The blow seemed to knock the wind out of them as they collided with the wall.
The pirate paused for only a moment before lunging towards the flintlock and scoping it up, taking aim at Eda.
Eda snarled. ``Do it, I dare you.''
For a moment, she assumed that they would though at the last second their hands started to tremble. Their eyes were wide with fear.
``What are you?'' they whispered.
Eda blinked and looked down at her chest.
The geode embedded within it was starting to darken, the white being filled with a corrupted black. It turned out that maybe she had gotten a little too excited in her endeavours.
``Oh,'' she whispered. A tight smile then formed upon her lips as she looked up at the would-be assassin. ``I would suggest running if you value your life.''
The pirate apparently didn't need a second warning as he started to sprint away, his feet pounding upon the floor as he fled.
He reached out with a hand and drew a quick hex in the air, trying to summon a defensive ward. It was sloppy in its formation.
A burst of orange erupted from it and collided with Eda's face. She grunted, stumbling back at the impact.
What the hell had that been?
It didn't matter, in the end.
Eda had already saved Raine's life once but now she had to do so again. There wasn't much time left, maybe a minute or two before the transformation would begin. She stumbled forwards and found an emergency exit, pushing open the door.
She stumbled out onto a metal catwalk and braced herself against the railings.
Before her was the city of the Gambler's Den in all of its sparkling glory.
A pain coursed through her spine, crawling up along it. A gasp broke free from her lips as she sucked in a deep breath of the crisp nocturnal air.
Her vision swam as all she could make out was a sea of colours before her. The shapes had long ago abandoned her.
Then there was a blackness.
Though it only lasted a moment before she found herself standing overtop of a glistening pond. There was a noise behind her and she sighed, looking over her shoulder in disgust.
A beast started to approach from the abyss, moving at a steady walk. It was familiar though it brought her no joy that she recognized it. This creature seemed to recognize her too as it soon picked up the pace and began stampeding towards her at a powerful trot.
``Can't go a weekend without you ruining my life, can I?'' Eda asked.
Though of course the beast couldn't answer.
Eda balled her hands into fists. She should've been running but at this moment she had bigger fish to fry.
``Listen here,'' she growled, thrusting her finger at the beast. ``My best friend is currently having assassins sent after them and we're in a city that neither of us know very well. So, unless you want to end up as the centrepiece for some four-star buffet, I'd suggest taking us back to our room and gulping down a whole bunch of elixir, am I understood?''
The owl beast stopped and tilted its head to the side. It blinked once, then twice. At the very least, she had ensured that it would remain motionless for a couple of seconds.
``Well?'' Eda asked, huffing.
Though even she noticed the lack of conviction in her voice.
The beast blinked one last time before it screeched at the top of its lungs. It lunged at her, bounding forwards with such frightening speed.
``Oh for...'' Eda yelped before turning on her heels and sprinting away.
Hopefully, she'd see tomorrow.
