Chapter Nine: Back To The Good Old Days

“No! It’s my fault, Illyra, and I can fix it. Listen. On Christmas Eve, I met a man who told me how...”

But I didn’t wait to hear whatever cockamamy sob story someone might have fed my softhearted sister this time. No one was coming to save her, and I had to do it. I grabbed my black leather motorcycle jacket and headed for the door.

“Illyra, wait! Don't do it! You don't have to do this for me. I could get you into trouble.” She cried but I ignored her.

I didn’t look back. I walked out of our tiny apartment and went down the open-air hallway to the moss-covered, crumbling concrete steps of the aging building where all the Hale Ka’nani Resort’s staff lived.

"It’s just like riding a bike. It will be easier than you think." I told myself fiercely as I raced down the steps. It was just as easy as dozing off after a long workday. Even after ten years away from the game, I could win at poker. I could.

I didn't have a choice, or my sister would be indebted. And I knew just the way Aldric w