The next few hands were cautious, the three stooges forced to shuffle money around between each other since Aliyah, Buck and I weren’t biting. I did have one decent hand, but seeing as the dealer had dealt specific cards to a couple of the plants, I wasn’t going to risk getting suckered into a fatal all-in.

So, just how do I pull myself out of this hole? I could keep it tight, but sooner or later Buck and Aliyah will be wiped out, and as one against three I’d be next. Besides, I think it’s only fair to shoot for a 1-2-3 finish with all of us legitimate players… now how can I make that happen?

The next hand my cards were unexceptional, but Buck, looking rather pale, started to raise. Aliyah folded, and I followed suit. Shit… this is bad. If he goes all in he’ll be wiped out. Luckily when the flop came out and none of the cards helped him he folded. Still, it was more chips for the enemy.

All right, if I can’t cheat myself, since her shuffling is so tight I don’t think I can manipulate the cards with wind unlike against the first crooked dealer, can I make it so they can’t cheat either? Drawing deeply on the wind energy within me I let out a gentle gust, masking the glow.

Beside me Aliyah looked up, suddenly alert to something. Her gaze roamed around between me and the dealer, who was shuffling the cards, her facial muscles twitching slightly. After a short delay she started dealing, and I took my cards, very careful to look at them in a way that would prevent any hidden cameras from seeing them, just in case. Seven and eight of spades. Not awful, but not amazing. Still… with my perception I could see the dealer was definitely perturbed. One other thing I noticed though was the casino owner was also looking a little puzzled, glancing around, and Aliyah had fixed her gaze on him, not even checking her cards.

Judging by the hand signals and body language of the three, they were unsure of how to proceed, and so a few chips were cast into the pot. Aliyah folded again, as did Buck. On the flop it was seven, eight and king, giving me two pairs. Now one of the stooges started raising, and I re-raised, and soon we had both added around seven stacks. The turn came out, and it was an eight. Okay, now I am good for it.

I tried another raise to bait him in, but alas he folded. I had taken a fair few chips, but it wasn’t a killing blow. As the dealer changed decks, opening a fresh pack of cards I stifled a grin. That won’t help you…

Wind blew again, gently and subtly, and I was gratified to see a droplet of sweat drip down her perfect face. She dealt with noticeable hesitation, something Aliyah seemed to have picked up on as well. This time when I checked my cards I was gratified to see a pair of kings. If I return the game to randomness then it comes down to luck, and even with the bad fortune of this place I’m thoroughly confident.

Aliyah was big blind, so after going around the table she had the chance to raise, which she did after glancing at me. I’m sure she can’t read me, so… this led to Emilio and Simon to checking her bet. I considered raising them, but I decided against it in case I scared them off.

The next cards that came out were two queens and a ten. Now I had two pairs, but if someone had a queen… Simon raised several stacks, and Aliyah folded. Her chips were diminishing quickly, but she didn’t seem concerned. I checked the bet, and then Emilio came in hard, with five more stacks. Still, when he did so I noticed his hand trembling. Is that excitement or worry? I can’t tell…

Doubling it with ten stacks I threw the pressure back at him, and he folded. I made more chips, and am well in the lead, but I’m not landing killing blows. One failed all-in will leave me nearly wiped out…

The next hand my cards were a pair of nines. Buck and Angelo were in on the betting, and on the turn… two nines and an ace! As the ace was flipped up I saw Angelo twitch, faint movement around his eyes. Oh, so you like that, eh? Angelo put in a twenty stack bet, and I raised it by thirty stacks. Buck folded, cursing, and Angelo went all in. I called.

Triumphantly Angelo flipped his cards to reveal a pair of aces. Sorry guy, but you are in my battleground now. With the cheating out, we are back to randomness. I casually turned over my cards to reveal my pocket nines, and Angelo looked sick. Still, if he drew an ace… but of course he did not, the last two cards meaningless, and Angelo was gone, eliminated. Dragging over the chips I now could afford one big loss.

“Well look at that, Akio establishes a commanding lead, and Angelo is out! Don’t forget to place more bets, and we will now have a short break for refreshments. We will resume in fifteen minutes!” the owner was trying to be jovial, but I could see the muscles in his cheek twitching. Yeah, now he can’t monopolise all of the places, plus with a player down their collaboration is weakened…

The dealer was talking to the casino owner, her eyes downcast, while Emilio and Simon both headed for the toilet. Buck, looking down at his modest stack of chips, looked over at me. “You really do have all the luck. I wouldn’t be surprised if you go all the way. Still, I won’t go out without a fight. You want anything from the bar? You too, Aliyah.”

“I’ll have a beer, need to keep a clear head.” I answered, and Aliyah waved him away, sticking to water. As Buck left us, Aliyah leaned in towards me, giving me a fantastic view down her dress. She rolled her eyes and whispered in my ear. “So, what’s going on here? They are totally cheating. So how are you beating it?”

I looked at her, barely masking my surprise. Yeah, this girl is sharp. She’s been observing a lot of things intently. “It’s the playing cards. I think they are changing the decks repeatedly to make it look legitimate, but if you look really closely you can see a pattern of indentations barely visible down the sides. She must be a genius or have practised a ton, but she can deal out the cards she wants with around a sixty or seventy percent hit rate.”

“I see. Makes sense as most of the games in the casino outside are rigged.” She surprised me again, having noticed. “Plus… there’s something in here, a gas or something, that messes with people’s heads.” She rubbed at her eyes, which were bloodshot. “Still, you seem very chipper. I don’t think you are in on it, but tell me, how are you beating the dealer?”

She’s beyond sharp. She’s as observant as I am… but sorry, I can’t say. “That’s a secret. Watch and you might find out.” I bluffed. Buck returned and gave me a beer, followed by the two cheaters. The dealer then came back, neck sweaty, revealing her nerves, and with that we started again, her opening a fresh deck.

As she shuffled the cards her gaze went to the owner, who scowled. As cards were dealt, I inspected mine once more. The next hand Aliyah managed to win, though it was quite a cagey one, and the dealer was looking more obviously distraught. Looking carefully at my cards I let out a fake gasp, before pretending to cover it up. Bait time…

Sadly, no-one took the bait, and my efforts were wasted. I have too many chips, it’s hard to sucker people in. the next hand came out, and it was a three and a king of diamonds. Not that special, but the fortunate winds were whispering to me to bet. As I moved out some stacks to raise, Buck went all in, and was then called by Emilio. I was going to join them, but I had a bad feeling so I folded.

Emilio had an eight and a ten of spades, while Buck had an ace of hearts and a six of hearts. The flop was king of hearts, two of hearts and nine of spades. Then the next card was a two of diamonds. Buck was winning on a pair with high card ace, but a lot could change on the final card, the river. It was dealt and… it was queen of hearts! Buck roared in delight as he scored the flush, more than doubling his chips, putting him back in the game.

Finishing my beer I continued to swirl my winds gently around the dealer. If her ability to feel which card is which relies on such sensitivity, if I create a series of differing, jumbled sensations, it completely blinds her…

Looking at my cards, I felt the winds surge once more. It was time! Simon was betting well, drawing out my chips, and going all in, he forced my hand. I felt fortune surge, and as we flipped our cards I met his gaze. Simon was well ahead, a pair of kings against my seven and eight, matched by the king six and ten on the table. He had three of a kind, while I had nothing. Still, there were two cards left and I was feeling very lucky. A two came out on the turn, and Simon’s grin grew more vicious. And on the river… a nine of clubs! I had done it at the last moment, filling an inside straight on the river. It was a foolish gamble, the odds in my favour slender, but to the fortunate winds… even as I celebrated, the winds died down, their fight against the misfortune in here spent, and I suddenly felt as if my skin was crawling with something damp and fetid. Ugh, the unlucky aura in here feels disgusting…

“Well, that’s half our players down, in this exciting August Apocalypse secret invitational!” the owner was saying, egging on the crowd. “At the halfway stage, just one more to go and we’ll know the players who will be walking away with the prizes.” He gestured to the bags of cash on the podium. “These are just a taste of the riches for the winners. Now to announce the rankings going forwards.”

“In first place…” he looked at me, eyes burning with hatred. “Our dark horse from Japan, Akio Moonstone Oshiro! An unusual name, but is it bringing him good fortune?” his gaze lingered on me, and I met it calmly, feigning disinterest.

“In second, some way behind, is Emilio Domingo, a poker player from sunny Mexico. He’s closely followed by an old hand at poker, winner of several tournaments on the strip, owner of the famous Kelly’s Rest chain of Irish-themed bars, of which one of the finest lurks on our own Las Vegas strip, Buck Kelly!”

He was waving happily, in contrast to Emilio, who seemed tense.

“Lastly, bringing up the rear as our short-stack, with a lot of work to do if she wants to win, it is a rare flower, a woman who can mix it with the best of the men, Aliyah James, a New York girl in what she tells us is her very first poker tournament. I think we’ll see her again, right people? Now, eat, drink and make merry, and be sure to get those bets in. You may have all been beaten by these four champions, but you can still make some money!”

He is so damn insincere. If people weren’t so drained, they’d notice for sure. Though it does seem he can selectively choose who he absorbs from. The dealer, his plants, the security… none of them seemed to be weakened. Whereas next to me Aliyah was digging her nails into her palms to keep focused, fighting against lethargy.

“Very well, dealer, open a fresh pack and start the next hand. We have a tournament to finish!”

As the dealer did as instructed, the owner gazed at me again, his lips quirking into a slight smile. It was then I felt an oppressive weight settle over the table, the feel of aether in the air. My wind died away instantly, and as I tried to call it out once more I realised it was being blocked. Trying to keep calm, I looked at my dealt cards, mind racing. Well shit, I guess he can use his abilities too…