"You're quite eager young man. Can I assume you have somewhere else to be?" Burns asked returning to his place as a dealer.
"I wouldn't say that I'm eager more so that I am timely, unlike your former opponent I won't be here for years on end." Nate Replied.
"I have to thank you for your assistance in 'Encouraging' me to finish my hand. I am unsure how long I've been stuck here. I am James. It is good to meet you." James said with a small bow.
"That's well and good James. Leave my customers alone and get lost." Burns chided.
"Your demeanor as host was poor at the start but it seems that losing really got to you. Will you be this upset when I win?" Nate said.
"Don't think my eye isn't on you. I know that you cheated even if I haven't figured out how yet."
"Will it matter if you simply beat me? Then you'd essentially own me. You could order me to tell you. Simple isn't it?" Nate asked haphazardly.
Burns couldn't get a bead on Nate. There were signs of him being a poor gambler, tells swam about his whole body yet that didn't matter as much when it came to their game. Maybe if they were playing poker it would affect things. Still something tugging at his senses telling him that he was in danger.
"That is true. So to our hand?" Burns offered.
Nate gave silent confirmation and the cards were dealt as calmly, simply, and with no pomp as any other hand. A heavy weight hung over the air that only seemed to pervade into the owner of the establishment and his previous opponent. Boudica came up to stand next to her Lord.
She pressed into his arm which normally would be hard with her armor. This was not the case as spirits could manipulate what was and what not felt. Inside of the spirit dimension that was the salon it should be a harder thing to accomplish but that only went for spirits that weren't Boudica. The hard armor was replaced with the soft fabric of her dress as she gazed down at his cards.
A Jack and a six of spades. A sixteen could be considered one of the worst hands that could be dealt to him. Burns was unsurprised on the cards sitting opposite him but frowned when looking at his own. Nate only saw the nine of hearts, as for any tells over his hidden card he couldn't tell.
"So would you like to hit? I hope I need not tell you of the bad luck that is your hand." Burns asked with a smile finally coming back to his face.
"Dirty cheat." James scoffed.
"Yes, hit me please. While you do that, might I ask you a question?"
Casually Nate reached around placing a hand on Boudica's hip she gave out a slight squeak before looking down at him. She didn't pull away but this didn't seem like part of the plan. They had silently conversed, their understanding of the situation required her to change his cards if anything happened. Yet, he seemed to have trapped her by his side.
Internally she wavered between the comfort of his arm and then need to effect the cards. Looking into his eyes she caught an odd hint of something within. They glittered a mad light that she recognized from their fight at the hospital.
"A five of hearts." Burns said slowly gazing down at the card that fell into Nate's lap.
"I'll stand. Now tell me do you have anymore games going on?"
The question caught James and Burns off guard. The dealer was still reeling over the fact that he might have wound up in a tuff spot. While the other frowned thinking back through the years of being stuck at this table.
"Not any that have happened here." James responded.
"Why does it matter?" Burns asked briskly.
"I won't be winning you as a spirit. You were excluded. But I was curious about that power of yours. Or Spell."
"What about my spell exactly?" He wavered over what his next move should be.
"You didn't take damage from the beam attack, which either means you disallowed damage from it or.." Nate paused for several seconds and glanced over at James.
Catching his look the man didn't know where he was going with the matter. He approached closer just in case but didn't crowd him. The beautiful woman on his arm seemed to prickle at his approach before Nate stopped her with a soft squeeze.
"Or what?" Burns asked defensively.
"Do you have any other games going on? I don't think you'd be able to conduct them from far away. Else you'd have a dealer standing in for you. Maybe it's just a love of the game." Nate disregarded the man's probing.
Taking a moment to assess his opponent, Burns found that it would be best to stand on this; he could easily make it a twenty with his magic. It was to the point he never considered the real card under which he had hidden from sight. Everything would come down to if his manipulation had worked.
"Not currently, no. Does it matter? You're going to lose here." Burns said.
"Boudica, you've been in the world of spirits longer than I have. Tell me, do most spirits know how their magic works?" Nate's question further worked to annoy the dealer.
"Yes, and no. We know how to cast our magic and adjust it, but how it works fundamentally is different. The Queen, I mean Theodora, knows more given her long life and research. Most of us just use it." Boudica answered helpfully.
"That does sound about right." Burns added.
"Then let's finish this hand and I'll tell you why I asked." Nate said with a smile.
Boudica didn't receive the signal to act so as to not be in his way she started to step away. A mischievous light glinted in Nate's eyes as he pulled her down into his lap. His win was guaranteed unless Burns directly changed his cards. To do so blatantly would cause him to be exposed.
When she was pulled into his lap she blushed deeply having not expected such a thing. Nate seemingly stopped paying attention to Burns as the woman pressed down on him. The man in question looked at them bitterly.
"I will also stand. Hopefully you were doing more than bluffing and flirting." Burns said coldly.
"Gambling and having a beautiful woman next to me. Sorry Boudica I couldn't help myself. It reminds me of running the gang."
She clung around his neck, head turned away from the table. Through the door she could see the Bar. Lupita was pouring another glass of what was likely booze for Braydon, he still could not see her. On the other hand Karah stared agape at her position on his lap. Only when some sort of sound passed her lips did Lupita look up and cover her giggling mouth.
Instead of being cowed or shrinking under Karah's gaze and Lupita's giggles she straightened. She was a knight filled with valor, pride, and love. Why should she be pushed by a simple look? A daring blush spread across her face as she gave Nate's cheek a soft peck.
As she pulled away he looked up at her with a knowing smile. Karah had done something similar when he was with Mandy, and though turned away he could feel the steam coming out of her ears. He let her stew in that feeling, fair was fair.
"Nineteen, your cards?" Burns said voice now ice cold. The apparent physical displays of affection angered him.
"Twenty-one. It was a good game." Nate said, turning this card over.
The dealer stared down at the numbers laid out on the table. This couldn't be happening. He lost a game of blackjack? He held all the cards, all the tricks. Grasping at straws he leveled an accusatory finger down to Nate's face.
"You cheated."
"No, not this time. I might have but it seems luck is on my side." Nate said, tapping Boudica to stand.
"That can't be you, you did something to the suits cards. I don't believe you didn't cheat now."
Nate stood to his full height as he towered across the table. Burns might have felt endangered but his ability would prevent him from getting hurt. At least that's what he believed. A strong left crossed the table smacking into the gambler's face and sending him to the ground. A groan of pain and dizziness followed.
"Let me explain some things before you give me what I'm owed. Magic isn't a miracle that can resist everything. With sufficient power or the right circumstance it can be overcome. In your case I'd say you've never had to fight someone when one of your games wasn't going."
Burns struggled to look up at the man as he rounded the table. His large hand closed around his collar pulling him to a standing position. One hand held him up while the other dusted off his shoulders.
"How?" He managed confusedly.
"You're not some god that can't be hurt. You can only gamble and while it goes on you can't attack or be hurt. I'm unsure if that extends to your opponents. Either way you should have just given me the eye from the start. I didn't want to take it this far, but I'm also unhappy. James was it you are the Mr.Dial correct?"
"Yes, and don't get me wrong when I say this but why are you pummeling that man? I hate him for sure but he didn't do anything to you."
"He let that rat Braydon get a hold of magic that could have killed me. But more than that he made things complicated since you were supposed to be the one watching over this damned structure. Or am I wrong?" Nate asked gruffly.
"How did you know that this was his space?" Burns asked through shaking breaths.
"The moment I saw him, of course. A man in a business suit at the top of the towers, in the penthouse. It also factors into a theory of mine. Tell me James that red eye its been here the whole time hasn't it?"
"Yes, I still don't understand…" James started before Nate cut him off.
"The same went for the last location we checked. Anyway I just don't like this guy. Now let's finish our business and move on."
A variety of magic items, spells, and power slowly entered into Nate. He received a detailed list from Burns leaving everything except the eye and Mary. Nate appraised the woman as he headed into the bar with the rest of the people. James sullenly sat down at the bar, impossibly Braydon looked drunk. Nate wasn't sure if that was possible given it was spirit booze but who was to say.
"How did it go?" Lupita asked, though the answer was obvious.
"It went well, now we just need to take the eye and this place will come crumbling down." Nate responded.
Karah circled Boudica like a wild shark. If he let it alone he was sure she'd start a fight, briefly he considered teasing her even more. That would come later as he looked at the downcast James who was joined by Burns. Though they hated each other, some sense of understanding must have been born between them over the years.
"Well, kid you got me good. Wendy here is a grade two spirit. She'll be useful if you've got the space. Currently I'm suppressing her more violent tendencies, so good luck with that." Burns said depressedly.
"I'll keep that under advisement. Mr.Dial why the glum look? You're free now."
"You took ownership of this space. I won't have a home to haunt soon, and I'll certainly fade away after that. I'm grateful but …"
"Don't got to say anymore, I'll give you this space back. So long as you don't go gambling it away. Won't be as impressive without the eye but I'm sure you'll manage." Nate said.
"Re-really? Are you sure? You could probably do something with it, you're a necromancer after all."
"Nah, it's all good. I don't have the know-how to do something with this, and I will be expecting you to make a contract in return for keeping and staying here. We can iron out the details later. I think it best I check on my teacher."
"Thank you sir, really thank you." James said truly grateful.
Nate finished up with the penthouse, Mary was stored away into the spirit house, and at last the eye was removed. As they did so the mirage of the saloon faded away. The cracked floors and dilapidated bathroom came back in full force. Without the eye holding together Burns' creation the place snapped back into its true shape.
James took some time looking over the penthouse, his gaze seemed to reach all corners of the building. He would have his work cut out for him if he wanted to repair the location, even if only spiritually. Nate returned the ownership of what remained of the spirit dimension before heading out.
Sometime between when they removed the eye and James' survey Burns left. He wasn't in a proper state of mind and Nate didn't care enough to cast judgement upon the spirit. In the end he was a Necromancer not a priest.
Outside the tower Wayne met them with an annoyed face. Clearly their plan to lure out Zeus hadn't worked and whatever was going on simply made things worse. With little else to do they made their way back to base, the arrival of the military would mean changes that weren't in their best interest.