Semper continued his explanation as a man behind him placed a massive stack of silver-backed cards on the table. There were ten decks of the Shadow Cards within the large one, which meant there were ten of each kind of card. Each round, the players wishing to compete for that round’s card would place one orb in the center. The objective was to collect all twenty-two Shadow Cards.
The men standing around the table gave each of the players a silk pouch. When Enne opened the bag, she ran her fingers over tiny orbs made of black glass, identical to the one she kept within her nightstand at St. Morse.
“These are unique orbs,” Semper said. “They’re filled with your life force, not volts.”
“How is that possible?” she asked, as though she’d never seen one before.
“There are many mysteries in the House of Shadows. Why don’t you hand the orbs to Levi?”
How it works doesn’t matter,Enne thought.All that matters is us making it out of here alive.
But only one person had ever won the Game, and she’d died that night, anyway.
Enne slid Levi the bag. His face rigid, he placed an orb on the inside of his elbow and filled it with volt-like lightning that was gold instead of white, in the same way one might fill an orb if they’d carried volts in their skin. One. Ten. Thirty. Fifty orbs, all filled. He handed her back the bag, looking as gray as the members of the Phoenix Club.
She literally held his life in her hands.
“The orbs empty after they’re bet, so if you bet all of the orbs, Levi will die,” Semper told her. “The Game will last three hours. If you have failed to collect the twenty-two Shadow Cards by that time, the orbs will deactivate, and he will also die.” Enne tried to catch Levi’s eye, but his gaze was fixed on the stack of Shadow Cards.
Semper set a metal timer the size of a mousetrap on the table, its clockwork and wires visible, as if inside out. Each round, he would deal the players as many regular cards as there were bets. Eight cards for eight players betting, for example. From there, those players competed for the card up for grabs that round. Everyone played one card per trick until they ran out, and the highest card of the trick collected the others. Whoever ended with the smallest number of spades won the round and the Shadow Card. Ties were decided by dice.
Semper shuffled the normal deck. Itthump-thumpedon the table.
“There’s one other catch,” he said. Of course there was. “The Shadow Cards, once the Game begins, develop divination properties. When they touch your skin, you’ll see a flash of your life according to the card. What has already happened, or perhaps what could have happened, had you made different choices.”
Levi finally looked at her. She held his gaze, her heart lodged in her throat, and silently told him that she could handle this, that it would be okay, that he had more than three hours left. But the fear on his face remained. She wouldn’t have believed herself, either.
“What’s the point of the divination?” she asked Semper.
“To remind the players of the stakes.”
As if they needed reminding that they were about to die. It didn’t matter that Levi’s life was the one at play—the Phoenix Club would certainly never let her leave the House alive when this was over.
“You may pick up your cards,” Semper instructed. He slapped his hand on the timer, which jolted to life.
Tick, tick, tick.
Enne grabbed her two Shadow Cards. As soon as she touched the top one, an image filled her mind, momentarily ripping her away from the room. She was in the dining room of her Bellamy house, and she stared up the stairwell at the first door. Lourdes’s office, always locked. The house felt crowded with secrets.
The vision changed. She was slightly older, wearing a deep burgundy gown and waiting in a queue. Someone announced the name of the girl in front of her. When he called Enne’s name next, Enne glided down the white-carpeted steps and entered a glittering ballroom, finally Lady Erienne Abacus Salta.
The room returned. Enne gasped and, after a few moments, shakily lifted the Shadow Cards. The first was the Moon, which had given her the memory of her home. The second was the Chariot, which had shown her entrance into society after graduation. That wouldn’t ever happen now.Lady Erienne Abacus Salta.She couldn’t even truthfully claim that name anymore.
My life will literally flash before my eyes, she realized.The all-encompassing nature of the visions reminded her of the black-and-white hallway from her dreams. Maybe whatever mysterious forces that enveloped the House of Shadows were also responsible for how Levi and Enne shared that place.
She didn’t think she’d learn the answer now.
Semper flipped over the first Shadow Card up for grabs. It was the Empress. Eight people put in an orb, including her. The hand Semper dealt her was almost all high cards, and from what she remembered about the rules, that wasn’t a good sign. But she hadn’t understood much from his explanation.
Semper played his first card, the three of spades. She used her lowest spade, the jack. Of course, that turned out to be the highest card and she took all of the cards, including five spades. That was five strikes.
At the end of the round, she had more spades than anyone, which eliminated any chance she might have of collecting the Empress. She could almost feel Levi’s anguish from across the table. Three people had collected zero spades, and they rolled the dice to determine who won the round’s Shadow Card.
One orb missing. Forty-nine left.
Five rounds went by. She played four and lost them all.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
