Gameboard of the Gods

Her father was especially obsessed with the RUNA. His adoration of all things Gemman had increased when he’d been allowed a couple of trading trips there. He’d come back starstruck, full of stories about the country’s technology and the luxuriant way its citizens lived. People could walk the streets safely, and everything was clean and bright and perfect. It was where he’d met Justin and why Justin had been allowed to stay with them when he’d first come to Panama City.

“It’s impossible,” her father said at last, though she could tell from the faraway look in his eyes that he was already imagining this fantasy.

“It’s completely possible,” Justin said, looking just as excited.

Tessa’s father seemed to return to reality. “Why are they letting you go back?”

Justin shrugged. “They want me to resume my old job. I was good, you know. One of the best. You saw the way I lived. I had access to all sorts of connections and opportunities—things that Tessa could be a part of. She could live like a queen.”

There it was again, the wonder in her father’s eyes. Tessa had always believed Justin was a genius, but her mother had said he was a con artist. When Tessa had asked her father which was true, he’d said Justin was both.

Her mother reminded the two men of her presence. “Sergio! You aren’t actually considering this, are you? She’s sixteen. You can’t just let her go off and live with some man, especially one like him.” Even while outraged, she couldn’t bring herself to use any improper language to clarify what she meant by “one like him.”

“Oh, she wouldn’t live with me,” Justin said quickly. “She’d live with my sister. She’s a, uh, real lady. She’d look out for Tessa. She’d totally make sure Tessa’s protected and behaving properly. And well fed. Besides, let’s be honest here. What are you really going to do with her if she stays?”

“She’ll do what all young ladies do,” she said. “She’ll finish her education and then marry someone appropriate.”

Justin shook his head. “‘Education,’ huh? You mean more homeschooling with insipid reading and remedial math? And do you actually believe it’s going to be that easy to marry her off?” He glanced over at Tessa. “No offense, sweetie.” To her parents, he said, “She sits out at dances. She says things she shouldn’t—in public. And worst of all, she’s smart. She’s cute enough that you’d eventually get someone. It’d be worth it for some up-and-coming guy just to connect to your family. She’d hate it, though. And you’d spend a fortune waiting for that someone.”

Tessa wasn’t sure if she’d been insulted or complimented, but both of her parents fell silent. Even her mother couldn’t deny what Justin had said. Putting girls out on the marriage market was expensive. It required a lot of parties, a lot of clothes, and a lot of gift giving. Tessa’s oldest sister, Laurentia, was stunning. She’d been engaged within a month. Her next-oldest sister, Regina, was pretty too, but for whatever reason, it had taken her almost a year to make a match. Their family was well-off, but that year had strained their finances.

Justin knew he was making progress. “You’ve got two more after her. Business is good…but is it that good?”

“How do we even know any of this is true?” exclaimed her mother. “This could all be one big story so that he can take advantage of her.”

“Justin wouldn’t do that,” snapped Tessa’s father. Maybe he wasn’t sure about this offer, but he was confident of Justin’s character. He always had been.

Tessa’s mother wasn’t convinced. “I don’t like it. It’s completely unheard of, and I won’t allow it.”

Silence fell. Justin was watching Tessa’s father so, so closely. Justin knows, Tessa thought. He knows he’s got Papa. No other offer would’ve been so tempting unless Justin actually could’ve relocated their entire family. It was her father’s greatest desire. His grandparents had always hoped the mandates would lighten and allow their family to go back. Those mandates had indeed shifted. There were only small fines now for nonoptimal children, and those who followed the old ways were compensated generously. That didn’t change the strict Gemman policy toward immigrants, however. Still, Tessa’s father had clung to the family dream that some miracle might bring them back. Here it was, and there might never be a chance like this again.

“She can go,” he said at last. His face hardened. “But you have to look after her. Swear to me you will.”

Justin held up his hand. “As though she were my own daughter.”

“No!” cried her mother. “Absolutely not. I won’t allow this.”

Tessa’s father put on the fiercest look she’d ever seen from him. “I will allow it.”

Tension hung between them, so thick that Tessa could practically see it.

“Let Tessa decide,” said Justin. He sounded very reasonable and diplomatic.

All eyes turned on her, and Tessa took a step back. She’d kind of liked it when everyone had forgotten about her.

“That’s fair,” her father said, ignoring her gaping mother. “It’s up to you.”

There was a knowing look in Justin’s eyes. She understood now why he’d so gallantly offered the choice to her. He thinks he’s already got me because he always gets what he wants. Well, aside from the exile none of them understood.

“Go ahead,” he told her. “You’re going to piss off someone no matter what you decide. Might as well do what you want.”

“I don’t know if I want to go to the RUNA,” she said haltingly.

Justin’s smile faltered, but she’d spoken the truth. She was just as fascinated by that glittering, mythical country as the rest of her family, but completely relocating to a society so unlike her own was terrifying. Maybe she didn’t always like the way hers worked, but she knew it. It was comfortable. It was safe. Kind of.

Then she thought about the reader, that beautiful and miraculous device. What would it be like to be surrounded by things like that? What would it be like to go wherever she wanted? What would it be like to make her own decisions? Of course, that was presuming Justin’s sister would let her. Tessa wasn’t entirely sure how strict she would be.

“But I don’t know if I want to stay here either.” Her mother made some kind of strangled noise, and Tessa took a deep breath. “So…I’ll go.”

Justin smacked his hands together and whooped with joy. “You won’t regret it. None of you will. This is going to change your life.”

Tessa nodded weakly, unsure of what she’d just agreed to. Judging from her mother’s glare and red face, she suspected her parents would be continuing this conversation in private later. Her father would win out, of course. That was the way it was around here; the men governed the household. But not in the RUNA, she thought.

Her father, face jubilant, looked Justin over and beckoned him forward. “Come in and dry off. Get something to eat—and some water. You can spend the night, and I’ll have my driver take you back to Cristobal’s in the morning.”

That was too much for Tessa’s mother, and she stormed out of the room in a rage. Tessa quietly followed the men into the kitchen, mostly because no one seemed to notice she was still there. Her father walked on, but she daringly caught hold of Justin’s sleeve. He glanced down at her and grinned, still dashing even when wet and intoxicated.

“You made the right choice,” he told her. “As soon as you’re there, you’ll never want to come back.”

“But why would you do it? Whatever happened, I know you must have put up a fight to get me in. Why? Why would you do this for me?”

A little of that pride faded, and she saw a faraway look in his eyes. “Because your dad took me in when no one else would. And when he did, I was so sure of myself—and so desperate—that I swore I’d get back home someday. I promised him I’d get him back too—all of you. He took a big chance on me and would’ve done it without any payback. But I owed him. I still owe him. I couldn’t deliver all of what I promised, but I can get you in. That has to be enough for now.”

Tessa had never known any of this. “But why me instead of one of the others?”

That upbeat attitude was back. “Because you deserve it and can make the most of it. You’re smart—smarter than even you realize. You notice things no one else does, and I only know one other person that observant.”

“You?” Tessa guessed. Dashing, yes, and also confident to the point of arrogance.

“Exactly. See? That’s what I’m talking about. Keep watching the world, and you’ll go far. You couldn’t do that here, and I hate to see waste.”

Tessa studied him a few moments more. Maybe she really was as observant as he said, because she suddenly knew there was more. “What other reason? Why else would you try to lift me up?”

He smiled, probably at having his assessment of her confirmed further. “Because someone once did it for me.”

CHAPTER 7

FAIRYLAND

Tessa had never flown on a plane, and as she and Justin walked across the runway the next morning, she wondered if she could actually bring herself to do this. She hadn’t been able to sleep last night, and now, coming face-to-face with her transportation to Fairyland, her nervousness shifted to complete and total fear.

Justin, however, had other concerns.

“Do you know how primitive this is, actually walking across the tarmac?” He was smoking a cigarette, and despite his complaints, there was a swagger to his step. He’d woken up hangover free this morning, something her mother said could only have been accomplished through a deal with the devil. “You’ll see when we get home. There are Jetways to all the planes, and the airports don’t look like shantytowns.”

Tessa nodded. He’d been “enlightening” her all morning with tales of the RUNA, which he was already calling home again. She’d listened to his stories for the last few years, but there was something different about them now. Before, he’d been wistful, describing something distant and unattainable—almost exactly the same way her father spoke of the RUNA. Now Justin was already acting as though he’d never left and Panama was just some layover, rather than the place he’d called home for four years. ns class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">