Page 5 of Alien's Luck
Gamblers were their bread and butter, and to run a good hustle, they needed to maintain a certain image. That meantshe played the passive little human, Poppy pretended to be so affluent she could afford a human pet, and it worked for the most part. Blushing and getting flustered because a good-looking gargoyle winked at her was out of the question.
Back on Earth, being a decent person felt like being punished for someone else’s mistake. Some days, Carla swore that everyone else got an instruction manual on how to get ahead in life, and all she got was that one -page instruction sheet on how to assemble her budget Swedish bookcase. No matter how hard she worked, she couldn’t make any headway. The bills never stopped. Prices kept going up. The system was designed to keep people like her hungry and exhausted, and she hated how hopeless it made her feel.
This place, though? She understood the rules. The strong survived. The clever excelled. Decent people had no business being here.
Fine by her. Being decent hadn’t exactly worked in her favor, and now she could stop pretending.
Long story short, Carla wasn’t just surviving. She was thriving.
Seeing as how most people on this rock were criminals, outlaws, fugitives, or, the worst in her opinion, visitors come to indulge their vices, she had no problem stealing their money. Especially the tourists. She considered it a service, delivering a genuine Reazus Prime experience. As long as she and Poppy kept their heads down, stayed out of trouble, and didn’t give all their money away to big-eyed orphans, they did all right for themselves.
She distracted the mark while liberating credits and jewelry with nimble fingers. Poppy provided muscle when things got sticky, which happened a lot in the early days. She didn’t worry too much about the ethics of being a thief—they weren’t stealing food out of the mouths of orphans. They had a good system.Reliable. Expanding into gaming dens and targeting gamblers flush with cash was new.
The gargoyle continued to stare at her, not even trying to be subtle about it. Tavat noticed. His head swung from the gargoyle’s hungry gaze to Carla, and he licked his lips, that split tongue flicking in a way that made Carla’s stomach churn.
This guy was trouble.
Carla lightly touched Poppy’s arm, snagging her attention.
The gambling hall had plenty of good pickings: lots of people drinking and looking to have a good time with cash burning a hole in their pockets. They didn’t need to stay at this table.
Sure, being chased away by an alien creep didn’t exactly scream thriving, but she was working with what she had. Better to run away and live to fight another day and all that.
Poppy’s tail brushed against her leg, signaling that she understood. They’d move on as soon as possible. Good.
The gargoyle made his way around the table to stand next to Carla.
“What is your name?” he asked in a toe-curling voice that had no right being that seductive.
Her posture stiffened, and she turned to Poppy, ignoring the gargoyle. “Poppy, this guy is asking questions.”
Poppy immediately turned and growled, her quills standing up and going full-on dragon. “Do not get ideas, Khargal.”
The gargoyle chuckled as if amused, taking a step back but remaining close.
Tavat watched the entire exchange. She didn’t like the calculating look in his eye. It was spidery, if that made sense, like he sat in the center of a web, patiently waiting for hapless little morsels to wander in.
And that was exactly what happened. Poppy and Carla saw a high roller, thought, “Why not?” and fell into the trap.
They needed to skedaddle. Now. While they could still escape the web.
“Not yet,” Poppy said in a quiet tone, as if sensing her thoughts but disregarding them.
Why was she ignoring her? That wasn’t like her.
Poppy waited two more rounds of dice throwing before gathering up her modest winnings and announcing, “I believe I’ve lost enough for one night.”
Tavat placed a hand on Poppy’s shoulder. “Not yet. You haven’t given me a chance to win your pet.”
Poppy shrugged off the lizard’s hand. “Not interested.”
A slow, lazy grin spread across the man’s lizard face. It was rancid and very, very spidery. “You misunderstand me, friend. I don’t appreciate being told no, especially by a cheat.”
The crowd gasped. Maybe that was only her. No one paid the least bit of attention to the showdown between Poppy and Tavat.
Poppy stood at her full height. Built pretty much like a linebacker, she towered over most people. She didn’t have to do much to be intimidating, just scowl and swing her tail around a bit.
Tavat’s quills went back against his head.
