A Night’s Tale

The Cooler: Chapter 25

“So what changed? Why are you willing to talk now?” Peter asked.

JJ had finally said why they were meeting. After getting attacked by someone wielding a spell powered by a crystal, he decided that maybe he couldn’t hide.

“I guess if you get hit over the head enough times, it finally sinks in. I’ve been trying to avoid Simon’s plan, I mean, my plan, with no success,” JJ stopped for a moment to collect himself. “Today I was attacked by the kid from Arnie’s shop with a spell,” JJ finished.

“Wait, I don’t understand,” Raul said. “You went to Arnie’s shop, and you were attacked?”

“No, I was at the Tropicana,” JJ said. He then went on to tell how he got a page from the Tropicana to be a cooler and how the kid could sense him draining his luck, and then how he attacked him with the spell.

“So this kid cast a shock spell at you?” Paul asked.

“Wait, you cast a shield spell? I thought you didn’t know magic?” Raul said.

“That’s what it was? I can’t even tell you what words I said,” JJ said.

“Let’s get back to the kid,” Paul said. “You say he tried to shock you?”

“Yeah, he cast some kind of spell that he said was supposed to leave me twitching on the floor,” JJ said.

“And he did this in the middle of a casino with lots of eye-witnesses?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, and the spell was really bright; maybe everyone who saw it thought it was just a flash from someone taking a picture. The security person who kicked me out didn’t mention it when he was talking to me,” JJ said.

“Most people will delude themselves to keep from facing reality. When they are hit over the head with magic, they come up wth another explanation. That makes sense that no one brought up anything, you’re probably right that they thought it was a camera flash,” Paul said.

“The other thing about my interaction with the kid was he said, ‘He promised me that it would work,’” JJ said.

“Maybe we need to go talk to Arnie. I wonder if he taught the kid some more … energetic magic,” Raul said.

“Didn’t you say when you two saw Arnie that he had lost a week or more of time?” JJ asked.

“Yeah, he did. This is very curious,” Raul said.

“That’s even more of a reason to go talk to Arnie; maybe you two can go to him tomorrow,” Paul said and then stopped to take a drink and think about what had been said.

“When you said Kaulu earlier, what did you mean?” Paul asked, trying to judge the new level of commitment from JJ.

“Well, when I was sitting in the interrogation room, I fell asleep and had a dream.” JJ stopped and took a drink of his beer. “It was when I first found out about Kaulu.”

Paul and Raul were silent, waiting for JJ to continue.

“Is that it?” Paul asked, after a moment.

“Yeah, I guess, it just seems everything is connected to Kaulu. Before I can move on and make a life, I have to deal with him or die trying,” JJ said, staring into his beer.

“Then we need to set some ground rules. I am in charge,” Paul said.

“Ok, you’re in charge, what else?” JJ asked.

“Nothing else, I’m in charge,” Paul said. “I know how you are. Before the accident …” Paul started to say.

JJ interrupted him by saying, “The attack.”

“Ok, the uh … attack. Before the attack, you couldn’t let go of anything, and if it wasn’t done exactly the way you wanted, then well … you would let me know. Sometimes for hours,” Peter said.

“You’re right, I wasn’t a nice guy,” JJ said, and then took a drink. “Yes, you are in charge.”

Peter just looked at him, not sure if he believed him or not. “Ok, I still need to do some work on the spell. I have to find a way to lock Kaulu into one of the heads.”

“What happens after that?” JJ asked.

“Kavika said he will give us something,” Peter said.

“Oh, Ok,” JJ said.

The three of them sat thinking about everything and enjoying the beer and a moment of calm before the expected storm.

Finally, Raul spoke up. “I want to go to the Horseshoe tonight and see the group. I haven’t seen them since we found Arnie. I want to tell them about him.”

“I’ll go with you,” JJ said.

“That sounds like a plan,” Peter said. “Simon …”

“JJ,” JJ said.

“Right, JJ, if you remember anything more about how to contain Kaulu, let me know,” Peter said.

***

“Has there been any hints of the possession?” JJ asked Raul as they headed out of the bar.

“No, he has been good. None of the weirdness you described,” Raul said.

They were walking through the casino in Excalibur when they got to the table games.

“Hey, let’s play a little,” JJ said as they got to the craps table. “Roger and I were playing craps last night, and I really enjoyed it.”

“Did you lose much?” Raul asked.

“Nah, we did good,” JJ said and then stopped, opened his wallet, and pulled out a few thousand in hundreds. “Here, let’s play. Do you still have your silver coin?”

“No. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t seem to work for me, like it does for you,” Raul said.

“Well, that’s because you are not channeling the wild magic correctly. How many times do I have to tell you, Peter …” JJ stopped himself. “I’m sorry, Raul, I’m not sure where that came from. I have those flashes of Simon, and I’m just gone.”

“Does that happen often?” Raul asked.

“Can I have that spot if you’re not going to play?” a woman asked, trying to make her way to the table.

They had stopped infront of the craps table and were standing there talking.

“Oh yeah, we’ll move for you,” Raul said.

“Oh, sorry,” JJ said, shaking his head to clear it.

They stepped away to allow the woman to play.

“We can still go play, the table over there is only five dollars minimum, so we don’t lose much,” Raul said.

“Ok, that’s good,” JJ said, putting back most of the hundreds. “Here,” he said, handing Raul five one-hundred-dollar bills.

“Oh, wow, how well did you do last night?” Raul asked.

“Pretty good, why don’t you bet and I’ll throw?” JJ asked.

“That sounds good,” Raul said. And then the two walked over to the low-limit craps table.

***

“New shooter coming out,” the stickman said.

JJ and Raul had bought in for five hundred each, and then JJ had instructed him in the basics that Roger had told him, “Only bet the pass line and come bet, oh, and put odds down when you get your numbers.”

JJ gripped his coin and then threw.

“Craps,” the stick man said.

“I thought a craps was a bad thing?” Raul said. “How come you got that?”

“I don’t know,” JJ said and then looked down at the coin. It was just a normal dollar coin from a slot machine for the Tropicana. “Oh shoot,” JJ dug through his pockets looking for the coin. Except for a few quarters and some pennies, there were no other coins. “Somehow, my silver coin is gone,” JJ said with just a little panic.

“Dice are out shooter,” the stickman said, trying to get JJ to throw again.

“Sorry, I’m throwing,” JJ said and picked up the dice to throw.

“Five, pair-and-a-tray,” the stickman said as he collected the dice. “The point is five.”

“Is that good?” Raul asked.

“It’s not bad,” JJ said. He picked up the dice again and threw.

“Eight, easy eight,” the stickman called out.

JJ continued to roll, racking up numbers. He made a few come points but never his point. He had all the numbers working when he finally got a seven out. Both he and Raul had around three hundred on the table and had to watch the dealer drag them off.

“New shooter coming out,” the stickman said.

“What do we do now?” Raul asked.

JJ stood there just staring at the now-empty table for a moment. “I guess we try and find another game,” JJ said, then picked up his chips from the rail and started to walk away without really thinking about where he was going.

Raul grabbed the few chips he still had and followed JJ.

“So where are we going?” Raul asked.

JJ walked for a few steps, aimlessly. “How do all these people do it? How do they keep putting money into the machine or on the table? They put it down, and then the dealer takes it away.” JJ stopped and just looked, trying to understand.

“But you’ve been gambling a lot, since your bad luck curse was broken,” Raul said.

“Yeah, I have been, but I’ve always had something full of wild magic to make sure I would win,” JJ said.

“So this is the first time you were just a normal gambler?” Raul asked.

“I guess so,” JJ said, standing there thinking about it.

“Then my question is again, what do we do now?” Raul asked.

JJ didn’t respond for a moment, then finally shook his head, “With no luck, I don’t know.”

“What did you do last night?” Raul asked.

“We played craps for a while and won a lot of money and then saw a show and had dinner,” JJ said, then his stomach decided to speak up, “grrr.”

“Sounds like your stomach has some thoughts on what to do,” Raul said

“Yeah, I just realized that I haven’t had anything to eat yet today,” JJ said.

“Then let’s go cash out and get something to eat,” Raul said.

***

“I’ve never eaten here. What’s good?” Raul asked.

“I’ve only had breakfast here a while ago,” JJ said. “It was good.”

“I guess I’ll have breakfast then,” Raul said.

JJ put down his menu and was obviously thinking again about the craps game. “Since I learned how to draw wild magic to myself, I haven’t lost,” he said.

“Don’t you mean stealing wild magic?” Raul asked.

“Uh,” JJ said and thought about it for a few seconds. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I’ve done, but all the wild magic I’ve taken was stolen by them.”

“I think you’re just trying to justify your actions. Does the spell you use stop when the wild magic is drained?” Raul asked. “Peter has been teaching me about the different magics, and he was saying that wild magic and life magic are very close. So close that most spells don’t differentiate.”

“The spell was one that popped into my head, from my memory before the attack. I wouldn’t think I would know a spell that could steal life energy,” JJ said.

“Are you ready to order?” the waiter asked after stepping up to the table.

“Coffee and the Chilaquiles,” Raul said.

“I’ll have the steak and eggs,” JJ said. “And a coffee.”

“All right,” the waiter said and then left.

“You and Peter both said you weren’t a nice guy. You treated him barely better than a slave. If you didn’t treat your apprentice very well, do you think you would have had any problem stealing life energy?” Raul asked.

JJ looked at Raul, trying to remember if he valued life so lowly. “I can only hope I wasn’t practicing that kind of magic,” he said.

“My grandmother always warned me about taking life with magic. She said it blackened your soul. She said that that was black magic,” Raul said.

“So black magic is the smoking of the magic world,” JJ said, trying to make light of the subject.

“It’s not something to make light of. My grandmother was very adamant about never practicing black magic. I think you have to be very careful with your luck-draining spell. You might want to talk to Peter about finding another spell, or just don’t steal wild magic,” Raul said.

JJ was silent while he was thinking about what kind of person he used to be.

“So what made you decide to have a night on the town with your neighbor?” Raul asked, trying to break the silence.

“I wanted some advice from him, and that was the price,” JJ said.

“From him? What advice could he give you? How to wear underwear everywhere?” Raul asked.

“He gave me a different perspective on spending a night in jail,” JJ said.

“Here’s your coffee,” the waiter said, setting down two coffee cups.

“Thank you,” they both said.

“Can I get some cream?” Raul asked.

“Comin’ right up,” the waiter said and then walked away.

“I saw your neighbor; he didn’t look like he spent any time in jail,” Raul said.

“He didn’t say how much time he spent, or if he spent any time in prison, but he had a very interesting life,” JJ said. “He even said he was working on writing his life story.”

“That’s cool,” Raul said.

The two of them sat with their own thoughts, looking at the other patrons until the food showed up.

***

“That was a pretty good band,” Raul said. They had gone to a lounge at the Riviera after dinner at Excalibur, since they had a few hours to kill before any of the group would be at the Horseshoe.

“Yeah, they play there a lot, they are always good,” JJ said. They started walking towards the exit in the rear to grab a cab when JJ noticed a few slot machines with the silver coins at the top. “Hey lets see if we can get a few of those,” JJ said as he pointed to the machines.

“Are you sure you want to throw away more money?” Raul asked.

“Yeah, I’m ok with it.” JJ stopped for a minute to think about why he was fine with it. “I know I’ll probably lose a hundred dollars to get a single seven-dollar silver coin; I’m ok with that. Those coins are special; they seem to hold more wild magic than a normal silver coin should be able to hold.”

There were just three machines, and they were all occupied. JJ looked and could see that all of the players’ buckets were full of dollar tokens. “Looks like they’ll be there for a while,” Raul said.

“Yeah, let’s see if there are some of these over at the Horseshoe,” JJ said.

***

“Where do you think they would have them if they’re here?” Raul asked after they had walked into the Horseshoe.

“They are kind of flashy with the coins spinning yeahon the top, so they’ll probably be near the front,” JJ said as he looked around. They had come in from the back, where taxis dropped off fares. He started walking towards the front after not seeing any of the machines.

“I’m going to go check in the coffee shop for the group,” Raul said. “What time is it?”

“About ten,” JJ said as he looked at his watch. Then he just stared at it, trying to figure out why he kept forgetting about it.

“I’ll look for you right after I check,” Raul said.

JJ kept staring at his watch.

“JJ, are you ok?” Raul asked as he touched his shoulder.

“What? Oh, hey,” JJ said, finally coming out of his fugue.

“Are you ok?” Raul asked.

“Yeah, I was just,” JJ stopped talking for a moment. “Go ahead, I think I know where the machines are,” JJ said and then looked off towards the front of the casino. He turned after a few steps and said, “You know what, go ahead and get a seat and order me a coffee.” Then he turned back and started walking again.

“Ok,” Raul said, looking at JJ with concern. He stood until JJ was lost in the forest of slot machines, then turned and went towards the coffee shop.

JJ wandered a bit, making his way towards the front. He finally saw the spinning coins at a carousel of machines positioned so that they would be seen as someone walked in the main entrance.

***

“How did you do? Did you get any of the coins?” Raul asked when JJ walked up to the table where he was sitting.

“Yeah, I got two coins,” JJ said and placed them on the table, then sat down.

“Cool. Your coffee will be here in a second. I told them not to bring it until you sat down. I figured you wouldn’t want a cold one,” Raul said.

“Thanks,” JJ sat and looked over to see the waitress coming over right then with the cup and a pot to refill Raul’s cup.

“So now what? You have your coin,” Raul asked.

“Now I just need to fill it, and then I can go back to winning,” JJ said.

“I think you need to find a new way to fill it? I think you are dangerously close to black magic with the way you fill it,” Raul said.

“I don’t have any other way to get wild magic,” JJ said.

“You should talk to Peter. I’m sure he knows how to do it that doesn’t involve black magic,” Raul said.

“I’ll ask him the next time I see him,” JJ said, to stop the preaching before it got started. “So when do you think the group will start showing up?” JJ asked as he looked at his watch. It was 12:30 am.

The two sat in silence, drinking their coffee and watching the people come and go. Finally, Raul spoke up, “Did you look at the coins?”

“What do you mean? They’re right there in clear plastic containers,” JJ said.

“No, I mean, did you look at them with magic vision?” Raul asked.

“Nah, I figured I would when I’m home?” JJ said

Raul said the words to see magic. Then sat for a moment and finally said, “JJ, what’s with your watch?” And then he said the counter spell to return his vision to normal.

“What do you mean?” JJ said. “It’s just a watch I got for playing some slot machines.” Then he looked down at his watch. “No, I didn’t get it for that, I got it … when …” JJ stopped and then just stared.

“Hey, it’s Guardian,” Rachel said when she walked into the coffee shop. “Oh, and big spender. Hi … uhm …”

“JJ,” Raul said.

“Right, JJ, nice to see you,” Rachel said.

“Huh, what?” JJ said, as he shook his head to clear it. “Oh, hi … uh.”

“Rachel,” Rachel said. “Can I join you guys?”

“Yes, please, we are here to see the group,” Raul said.

“Well, we’re here,” Rachel said.

“What do you mean?” Raul asked.

“The day after you were here last, a new guy, Tom Cox, showed up. He said he knew magic and had a teacher. After a few days of his trying to convince them to go with him, they finally stopped showing up here,” Rachel said.

“JJ, isn’t that the name of the guy who attacked you at the trop?” Raul asked.

“His last name was Cox. I’m not sure what his first name was, but how many guys with the last name Cox that can wield magic are there?” JJ asked.

“A guy attacked you?” Rachel said with concern. “Did he hit you or what?”

“He attacked me with a spell,” JJ said.

“A shock spell, Peter called it,” Raul said. “Oh, I almost forgot, we found Arnie.”

“Where?” Rachel asked.

“We found him at the hospital a few days ago. He was severely dehydrated and malnourished,” Raul said.

“What? I just saw him a few weeks ago. What do you mean by malnourished?” Rachel asked.

“When Peter and I saw him, he was skin and bones,” Raul said.

“Who is Peter, and what hospital is he in?” Rachel asked.

“He’s at UMC, we’re going to see him tomorrow,” Raul said.

“I’ll go with you,” Rachel said. “Who’s Peter, and Tom cast a spell at you? Wow, what is going on?”

“For that, I think we need some beers,” Raul said.

Raul and JJ spent a few hours telling Rachel about Peter and the rest.