represents one thousand
dollars?”
Around the table came murmured acceptance
as racks containing gold were presented by men who were either playing the role
of dragon servants or were trusted club employees. Lyra wasn’t sure which, only
that she thought her heart might just stop when the maître d’ bent down,
casually asking her, “Do you have a preference?”
He held a tray in front of her containing
sample coins. Canadian Maple Leaf, South African Kruggerrand, United States
Buffalo and Eagle. China Panda, Australian Kangaroo and Lunar, as well as a
couple she didn’t recognize.
Her hand trembled as she picked up the
Maple Leaf. These weren’t the small-issue versions, but the coins containing a
troy ounce. Their real worth would fluctuate based on market factors, but there
was a modern-day gold rush taking place, and right now, the coin she held was
worth upwards of sixteen or seventeen hundred dollars.
“The American coins,” she said in little
more than a soft croak. Then, because she’d always loved the black-and-white
bears, she added, “And the Pandas.”
The maître d’ straightened after she’d
placed the Maple Leaf back on the tray. He motioned to someone and a moment
later, several glittering towers of gold coins stood on green felt in front of
her.
The sight of them made her lightheaded. The
thought of using them, gambling them away, twisted her stomach in a knot. What
was she doing here?
Pierce caught her eye and winked. “It’s all
pretend money as far as you’re concerned. Enjoy this chance to bring a bunch of
dragons to their knees.”
Chapter Four
If only it were all pretend, Lyra thought.
Her stake alone would help the Ochoa family get back into a home rather than
having eight people living in a motel room. It would help keep their restaurant
going.
But to win everything at the table… That
could mean reclaiming their house and covering all the medical bills. It might
even mean setting up a fund to help the families of other students.
She wiped damp palms against her dress and
tried to assume a poker face. It’d been a lot easier sitting in front of the
computer screen. There she could be coolly rational and completely logical.
There she could tell herself it was all about the intersection of mathematics
and human behavior with a little luck and psychology thrown in.
Her dreams of doing something big,
something really good for a family she’d come to care deeply about, seemed like
high aspirations. Alone in her apartment, she might have feared she’d catch
gambling fever because of her genetics, but here, she felt creeping terror that
the stacks and stacks of gold coins might fill her with a raw, covetous desire
that would push into her everyday life and leave her discontent.
“A reminder, gentleman,” Pierce said,
picking up the cards after having shuffled them. “In the event you crash and
burn, either at the hands of your competition or those belonging to Lyra, you
must leave the game, unless our beautiful guest finds the thought of
your absence too distressing. In that case, you may buy in for a second time
with another one-hundred-coin stake. Blinds are five and ten.”
Lyra looked down then, forcing herself to
count the Eagles, Pandas and Buffalo in front of her. One hundred coins, not
worth the one hundred thousand dollars stated in the invitation, but more like
one hundred and sixty or seventy thousand. What kind of men rounded downward so
easily?
Pierce dealt the first two cards, called
“hole cards” in Texas Hold’em. With barely a glance, she
folded when play reached her rather than place the minimum bet. She couldn’t
concentrate. She couldn’t bring herself to pick up the required ante, ten gold
coins, worth roughly sixteen thousand dollars, and casually put that much money
into play.
It didn’t deter the men. They bet big,
aggressively, as if the competition wasn’t for the gold, but to knock their
opponents out and force them to leave the
dollars?”
Around the table came murmured acceptance
as racks containing gold were presented by men who were either playing the role
of dragon servants or were trusted club employees. Lyra wasn’t sure which, only
that she thought her heart might just stop when the maître d’ bent down,
casually asking her, “Do you have a preference?”
He held a tray in front of her containing
sample coins. Canadian Maple Leaf, South African Kruggerrand, United States
Buffalo and Eagle. China Panda, Australian Kangaroo and Lunar, as well as a
couple she didn’t recognize.
Her hand trembled as she picked up the
Maple Leaf. These weren’t the small-issue versions, but the coins containing a
troy ounce. Their real worth would fluctuate based on market factors, but there
was a modern-day gold rush taking place, and right now, the coin she held was
worth upwards of sixteen or seventeen hundred dollars.
“The American coins,” she said in little
more than a soft croak. Then, because she’d always loved the black-and-white
bears, she added, “And the Pandas.”
The maître d’ straightened after she’d
placed the Maple Leaf back on the tray. He motioned to someone and a moment
later, several glittering towers of gold coins stood on green felt in front of
her.
The sight of them made her lightheaded. The
thought of using them, gambling them away, twisted her stomach in a knot. What
was she doing here?
Pierce caught her eye and winked. “It’s all
pretend money as far as you’re concerned. Enjoy this chance to bring a bunch of
dragons to their knees.”
Chapter Four
If only it were all pretend, Lyra thought.
Her stake alone would help the Ochoa family get back into a home rather than
having eight people living in a motel room. It would help keep their restaurant
going.
But to win everything at the table… That
could mean reclaiming their house and covering all the medical bills. It might
even mean setting up a fund to help the families of other students.
She wiped damp palms against her dress and
tried to assume a poker face. It’d been a lot easier sitting in front of the
computer screen. There she could be coolly rational and completely logical.
There she could tell herself it was all about the intersection of mathematics
and human behavior with a little luck and psychology thrown in.
Her dreams of doing something big,
something really good for a family she’d come to care deeply about, seemed like
high aspirations. Alone in her apartment, she might have feared she’d catch
gambling fever because of her genetics, but here, she felt creeping terror that
the stacks and stacks of gold coins might fill her with a raw, covetous desire
that would push into her everyday life and leave her discontent.
“A reminder, gentleman,” Pierce said,
picking up the cards after having shuffled them. “In the event you crash and
burn, either at the hands of your competition or those belonging to Lyra, you
must leave the game, unless our beautiful guest finds the thought of
your absence too distressing. In that case, you may buy in for a second time
with another one-hundred-coin stake. Blinds are five and ten.”
Lyra looked down then, forcing herself to
count the Eagles, Pandas and Buffalo in front of her. One hundred coins, not
worth the one hundred thousand dollars stated in the invitation, but more like
one hundred and sixty or seventy thousand. What kind of men rounded downward so
easily?
Pierce dealt the first two cards, called
“hole cards” in Texas Hold’em. With barely a glance, she
folded when play reached her rather than place the minimum bet. She couldn’t
concentrate. She couldn’t bring herself to pick up the required ante, ten gold
coins, worth roughly sixteen thousand dollars, and casually put that much money
into play.
It didn’t deter the men. They bet big,
aggressively, as if the competition wasn’t for the gold, but to knock their
opponents out and force them to leave the
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