Page 20 of Drakhana's Treasure
“Oh, I’m not sure. I’m going to try doing the greeter thing again.”
“Hmm. Well, be careful.” He gets up and hurries to put his plate on a nearby trolley, waving as he leaves. A lot of the others start moving as well and I notice its near 9am which is the official start to the day in the human world. As I get up to head to the front entrance, Zelena passes me by.
I brace myself for a bitchy comment but she doesn’t even notice me. She’s talking into her phone and striding aggressively towards the boardroom. As she gets near the door and puts her phone away, she softens visibly. When she greets the people inside, she looks positively sweet.
I guess having two faces can be an advantage sometimes.
I get to the front doors and the concierge remembers me. He agrees to let me stay and work but on the condition that I do so under his direction. I gratefully accept, asking him to keep a close eye on me. I’ve still got a long way to go but so far, I’m doing well learning how to interact with humans.
For the first few hours, I throw myself into the work and it suits me well. My smiles aren’t fake or forced, they spring up like fresh flowers in spring. I greet everyone that comes through with equal enthusiasm, telling them to try the steak, see the diva and above all, have a lucky day!
“No fucky days today?” the concierge whispers out of the corner of his mouth.
“Maybe a ducky day?” I laugh, giving him a little shove.
As the afternoon sneaks up on us, the doorway gets busier. Some people cruise right past me and I try to ignore them, focusing on the people who are looking around without any purpose. They happily accept my help and take brochures on what to do at our casino.
I figure out pretty quickly that humans need a lot of assurance. Even with my instruction and armed with a stack of brochures, a lot of people get lost the second they step away from me.
I’m thinking about taking a break when I see a small knot of people blocking the entranceway. This is one of my jobs as a greeter, keeping the area clear. The other staff seem to be having trouble moving them so I hurry over, breaking up the crowd as I push through to the center.
“Everyone okay here?” I’m so proud of my smooth, confident tone that I’m sure everything will be alright. What kind of trouble can possibly break out right here at the doors?
“Hey! No. Not okay.” The voice sounds slow and dull. One of the other staff leans in and whispers to me.
“They’re drunk. Security is coming.”
Frowning, I get a bit closer. There are three people in the center of the crowd. A tall blonde man, a short brunette woman and a tall slender guy with black hair. They appear to be making an argument out of everything that’s being said to them.
I have complete trust in the power of my smile after a full day of charming people. I step even closer, smiling brightly.
“How can I help you here today? Welcome to Casino Flame, where your luck runs hot!”
The three turn slowly and look at me. Eyebrows raise and sidelong looks are shot.
Something isn’t right here.
“Well, well.” The woman takes a step forward. “What have we here?”
“I’m sorry?” I hold out my hand to shake. “I’m a greeter here and I just want to make sure your stay is—”
“Shut up.” The skinny guy cuts me off abruptly. “We didn’t come here as customers. We’re just checking you out.”
“Um. Okay.” I literally have no response. The ‘can do’ handbook didn’t set me up for drunk assholes.
“You work here?” The woman steps closer, looking into my eyes. When I catch her gaze, I back up a few steps. She looks slow, lazy and drunk, but she’s really not. Her eyes burn into mine with the force of liquid nitrogen. I keep taking steps back, not sure what’s wrong with these people or why they frighten me so much.
“Yes.” I answer her question even though she doesn’t seem to want an answer. She keeps advancing and I keep stepping back.
The other two guys have gotten into a huge argument with the security officers and it looks to me that their sole purpose here is to make a big scene in the doorway, discouraging people who want to come in. It seems so mean and stupid. Who would do such a thing?
I bump into a wall behind me and that’s it, crazy lady has me pinned. Her eyes drain of color, going milky white. My heart pounds up into my throat, making me dizzy. I know I’m going to lose control and I don’t want to let Rastus down again.
I have to get out of here.
I try to run but the woman grabs my arm. She tries tugging me back towards her, hissing something through her teeth. I can’t hear her, I can’t feel anything except the blinding cold that slices through me. I can’t feel my hand—it’s like she amputated my arm just by touching it.
My throat burns as the blood curdling scream pours out of me. The terror does horrible things to the pressure in my skull and I stumble forwards, thrusting my arms at the woman in a purely instinctive defensive reflex.
