6. Presence

The lobby was just as opulent as the outside. The main centerpiece of the room was a sculpture that looked like it was made of frozen rivers of colored glass. It cascaded from the dome high above our heads, and twisted and wove its way down to splash in ponds of color. The glass was so organic that it looked like it was moving. What brought the room alive and complemented the glass were lots of little streams flowing over brightly colored river rocks. There were little wooden bridges over the streams, and the water divided the room up into sections of dry land. Some of the sections had comfortable furniture for waiting and chatting, and some of them had statues and all kinds of art.

The place kind of reminded me of those beautiful zen gardens like you see in kung fu movies. I always thought they looked nice, before the kung fu baddies showed up and trashed the place. Of course, this place was less zen and more lobby, but still, it was very nice.

Tock led us over a few bridges and deeper into the lobby. We paused at an open spot with the statues of two turtles playing together. One was climbing up on the other one, and I guessed they were heading for a nice spot to hang out in the sun.

‘Um. I think the turtles are mating,’ my Analytical Side spoke up.

‘Oh?’ I looked again.

‘Oh! You’re right.’

My Analytical Side smiled broadly. He loved hearing those words.

Now that I knew some of the artwork was a bit risque, I looked around with fresh eyes. On the next island over, there were statues of two crabs that were also “playing.” It made me wonder if all the statues came alive when no one was here, like Toy Story. If so, this place was set to party!

“Before we continue, I’m sending each of you a map of the place.” Tock’s voice pulled me back from my thoughts about crustacean reproduction. “The Palace complex is huge, and it’s easy to get lost. Fortunately, you can find your way to where you’re going by letting the map guide you. Just point to the place you want to go, and an arrow will appear in the direction you need to head. You can also just call my name, and I’ll appear to assist you however I can.”

He sent the map to our Stamps and walked us through bringing it up and selecting a destination. John seemed to have trouble getting it to work, but the rest of us were fine. He’s not big on cell phones and it didn’t seem like he used his Stamp a lot, so things like this were harder for him. For me, it was like using a simple version of Google Maps. Or maybe the Marauder’s Map from Harry Potter.

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good,” I whispered.

Nothing happened.

No secret passages appeared, and no hidden assassins showed up. It was just a plain old magic map. Oh well.

“Your suite number is 10642,” Tock continued. “This means you are on the tenth floor at the back of the building—room number 642. I’ve already marked it on your maps, and you can get directions by asking to go home. You won’t need any room keys here as your Bank Stamp will open your suite for you. It will also serve as your tournament tickets and identification. Pearls are the preferred currency here; however, most of the venues also accept mundane money, such as the U.S. dollar.”

Sandy stated that she and John were paying all the expenses while we were here and asked if there was a way to put a credit card on file? Tock took care of the details, and then continued his introduction.

“The opening ceremony starts at noon, which is about ten hours from now. The first quest will start immediately after that. I know you have had a long trip, so you are welcome to head up to your room and call it a night. On the other hand, if you are feeling ready to run through the heather, there is also a wide selection of activities you can enjoy.

“We have a large fair in the west wing with over three hundred vendors ready to cater to your every need. There is also a world class spa with some of the finest masseurs and beauticians in all of North America. I’ve been assured that experiencing the real thing is much better than what any freshness charm can provide.

“If you are hungry, we have a buffet fit for a king, with over two hundred unique dishes prepared by chef Louie Ravon. We also have training rooms, instructors that can be booked by the hour, and servants and personal valets that can assist with any chores. A world class casino is available as well for those that enjoy games of chance.”

My ears perked up at hearing that.

“Do they also have poker tournaments?” I enquired. If the tournament was a bust, maybe I could win some pearls at poker. I wasn’t a world class professional, but I wasn’t bad either.

“We have no-limit ring games while the MMTL is going on,” Tock replied. “Once it’s over, we’ll start our usual weekly Texas hold’em tournaments back up again. That usually has between five hundred and a thousand players. Three months from now, we’ll have our larger yearly tournament, which attracts anywhere from eight to ten thousand people.

“I have to warn you, though. The skill level at the poker events far exceeds what you’ll find in the mundane world. Some of these players have been competing at games of chance for hundreds of years.”

Tock gave me a warning look, and I realized he was probably right. Still, it was something to think about for the future. Maybe my poker days weren’t over completely.

“Getting back to what is available,” Tock continued. “I would also be happy to give you a personal tour of the grounds and tell you entertaining and informative stories about the artwork we have here. You may not realize this, but we have more artwork in all its forms than in any mundane museum in the world.”

Tock seemed especially pleased by that fact, and I would have loved to have taken him up on it if I wasn’t getting ready to fight for my freedom.

Sandy and Annabeth seemed interested in the spa, especially when Tock told them there was a sampler special available. He said it “would only take an hour and leave them feeling like heaven.” Tyler and John wanted to eat, and I was surprised to discover that even though I’d eaten several sandwiches, I was still hungry for more. In the end, we all decided to eat first, and then see how the night developed from there.

“Oh, there is one more thing I need you to set up before we leave here, and that is your public information. It is customary to show the name by which you would like to be addressed, your age, and the team you are affiliated with. If you are a contestant, the tournament requests that you also display your participation badge. You can always provide more information if you would like, but this is the minimum information required for the MMTL.”

John struggled with setting that up too, so he had a lot of help from Tock. My Bank Crystal knew what I needed, so it just snapped it into place. It also turned on its display, and now I could see this information hovering over the heads of everyone in the lobby. It seemed like only a few people went with the minimum. Some of them were displaying what looked like a small novel.

The participation badge was a yellow star, similar to what I’d seen on the Ivy League outfits, and it was proudly displayed by my name. I felt a small shiver just looking at it. This was feeling like an adventure, but I wasn’t here to just have fun. I was here to compete.

Once John was ready, we headed out. Sandy led the way, using her new mapping skills, and Tock stayed with me. He perched on my shoulder like a bird and kept looking at himself and touching his clothes, like he still couldn’t believe it was all real. Annabeth was keeping an eye on him too, and she smiled and continued to hum in his direction. Her pink magic settled on him like big balls of cat fur, further enhancing his mood.

The buffet was several minutes away, and I started noticing we were getting some strange looks as we walked through the halls. Some of the mages were polite about it, but some of them just stopped and looked at us like we had three heads and purple skin.

I personally thought we only stood out because we were the most normal looking people here. It seemed like everyone was trying to push the boundaries of what they could do with their bodies, and the older they were, the more they pushed. Most of the mages were between forty and sixty years old, and they tried to be as unique as possible with cosmetic changes. There were tattoos with colors that couldn’t be replicated with regular ink. Most of the mages had changed their eye color, and I saw everything from red to fluorescent green.

One guy had gone full elf, with pointed ears, brilliant blue eyes, and platinum white hair that flowed down his back to the floor. He had a few discreetly placed leaves, but other than that, he was showing his body to the world, and what a magnificent body it was too. He was slim, tall, and his muscles flexed in the most delightful way when he walked. His abs rippled like a mountain stream as he came toward us, and his butt was downright perky as he passed us and walked away.

I wasn’t the only one looking either. Legolas was going to be shooting sexy arrows tonight!

Tyler saw me watching, and between one second and the next, his casual clothes disappeared. Now he sported one huge elephant leaf in the front and one tiny little leaf in the back, which didn’t cover up anything at all.

“What are you doing?” I whispered urgently.

“I’m fitting in,” he replied with a smirk. “I got it, so I gotta flaunt it.”

He wiggled his butt and laughed.

I was scandalized, but I also realized he was right. Everyone was going either weird or sexy, and Tyler now looked normal.

In fact, given the fact that he was older than most of the supernaturals and seemed to be able to change his body easily, he was being downright tame. The older supernaturals, who were probably the top students or heads of their schools, went all out.

It seemed like horns were in fashion this season, and I saw everything from simple six-inch goat horns all the way up to a full moose rack covered in gold, silver, and precious gems. That guy was over six hundred years old, and his display was certainly grand.

“It makes me think his horns are that big to compensate for something else.” Annabeth did not look impressed.

“I”m sure that if he can grow his rack that big, he can grow his shotgun to whatever gauge he needs,” I laughed.

“I don’t know.” Annabeth didn’t sound convinced. “Methinks he doth display too much,” she said as she put her classical Shakespeare education to good use. Shakespeare was good for just about anything, especially throwing shade.

Sandy agreed, but Moose Mage caught Annabeth’s disapproving look and his aura flashed up to full force. Annabeth stumbled, and Moose Mage smirked as he walked by.

“Ugh!” Annabeth clutched her head like she had a massive headache. “Tock, why is everyone flaring their aura?”

“You don’t know?” Tock seemed surprised. Then he quickly motioned us to stop and huddle up against the wall.

I hadn’t noticed until Annabeth had said something, but now that I paid attention, everyone seemed to have their aura on blast. The mid-century mages felt like the gentlest of breezes, but the powerhouses in the halls certainly had a bit of push to them.

“In a public setting like this, supernaturals flare their auras to show how powerful they are. This helps prevent any misunderstandings between parties, as it’s immediately obvious who is the stronger mage.” He quickly glanced at all of us. “None of you are showing your auras. Is there a problem? I know the House is not very powerful, but it would be best if you could do something.”

Tock seemed anxious about this for some reason.

“This isn’t a custom where we come from,” Sandy told him. “I don’t know that I’ve ever tried to show my power like this before. Have you, John?”

He nodded.

“I used to do it a lot when I was younger, but I don’t think I’ve done it since I came to the House. It sort of feels like you build up pressure, like a good fart, but then you clamp your cheeks down hard and hold it all in. I’ve never found it to be the most pleasant of feelings, so it’s not something I enjoy doing.”

We all laughed at his description. We got the idea, but it was delivered in classic John style.

“Pleasant or not, you still need to generate a presence,” Tock requested. “It will make moving through the Palace much easier, and it will help ward off any challenges. As it stands now, any mage here would feel comfortable challenging you, and if you refused, you’d have to pay a fine. You’re already drawing a lot of attention with the team name of House Louisville, so you don’t want to appear any weaker than you already do.”

The whole concept of generating a presence seemed wasteful to me. On the other hand, paying a fine was wasteful too. We were here to make pearls, not spend them. And fighting every Tom, Dick, and Harry that thought it would be fun to take a swipe at us would surely hurt our tournament performance.

Everyone agreed with that sentiment, and we all got to work trying to generate our magical fart. I thought John would fire his presence up right away, but it took him a couple tries. I guess it really had been a long time since he’d had to emit one. When he got it, though, the results were spectacular.

It felt like a mountain had landed in the hallway, and it was crushing us to bits. Mages staggered under the sudden weight, and most of them fell to the ground. There was one woman who was doing the whole staring-at-us-like-we-had-three-heads thing and even had her mouth open—like she was that surprised to see someone from a House. When John’s aura kicked in, it hit her so hard she slammed into the ground, and I heard her teeth click as her jaw slammed shut.

“Oh! Wow!” John seemed as surprised as the rest of us. “I didn’t expect that.”

“You’re an Ambassador now,” Sandy said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Plus you’re a lot older. It only makes sense that you would have a lot more oomph.”

“Well, I have been practicing my oomph a lot more,” John said with a cocked eyebrow and a suggestive look.

“I like your oomph just fine,” Sandy purred and gave him another kiss—only this one was on the lips and had a lot more steam.

“Newlyweds,” Tyler said, rolling his eyes. “Where’s a bucket of cold water when you need one?”

“I hardly think you’re one to talk,” Annabeth laughed.

Then she poked John’s ribs. “Alright you two. Knock it off. And John, you better tone it down. You’re causing a traffic jam.”

I looked around, and sure enough, all the fallen supernaturals had caused the traffic in the hallway to come to a halt. John regretfully finished his kiss with Sandy and reined it in. Everyone got back on their feet and traffic resumed, although now we were getting looks like we had twenty heads.

Sandy went next, and she got it on her first try. This time, instead of the weight of stone, the hallway was hit with the heat of fires down below. At only seventy-three years old, Sandy shouldn’t have been able to affect that much. But she was a prodigy, a fire mage, and an Ambassador of the Deep Earth, so her impact was almost as intense as John’s.

This time the air felt like it was on fire and seemed to suck the oxygen out of the space. The heat was sudden, like someone had opened a huge oven door, and again it caught everyone by surprise. Shields went up, mages shrieked, and people dove for cover. I could see why, as it felt like the top layer of my skin was burning off and flaking away.

Our woman-of-the-open-mouth had stuck around, and she was shrieking with the best of them. I had no doubt our team was going to be the talk of her evening.

“It looks like my lady has plenty of oomph of her own,” John said proudly. Sandy quickly reined in her presence too, and John pulled her in for another kiss so she wouldn’t see all the dirty looks headed our way.

There was lots of grumbling and muttering, but nobody wanted to call out the mage that had that kind of aura, so they got themselves together and moved along. This time, though, we’d collected several onlookers who were sticking around to see if we had any more surprises.

Tyler went next, and he got it on his second try. I was afraid that his presence would cause an orgy and our woman-of-the-open-mouth was going to find it open for a completely different reason. He was an incubus, after all. But his presence didn’t highlight that part of his talents. Instead, it focused on his ability to eat negative emotions and make people’s lives better. I’d never experienced this myself, as my soul was too dense, but it was the basis of all the work he did for the House.

He helped new mages get over the trauma of their Waker Moments, and he helped older mages get rid of the upsets that took years to develop. My boyfriend is a walking sex therapist, and I’m proud of the amazing difference he makes in so many lives.

Anyway, his influence was more subtle than John and Sandy’s had been. His touch was light, and it felt like holding a friendly hand, or a pat on the back for a job well done.

This time the flow of the hallway didn’t come to a screeching halt. Instead, the conversations became more animated, and the laughter grew a little louder. Mages stood up straighter, and a happy bounce showed in their step. Our team actually got a few smiles and nods, and our group of watchers seemed less hostile.

We all looked around cautiously, but everything seemed fine. John gave Tyler a high-five, and Tyler seemed relieved. Annabeth decided to go next, but she didn’t seem to have any luck creating a presence. Tyler was still having fun, so he kept his going.

My first clue that something was wrong was when Tyler started clinging to my arm. He was leaning into me, like he was dizzy and I was the only thing holding him up.

“Tyler?” I whispered, as I didn’t want to distract Annabeth. He gave me a dreamy look, and I could see his pupils expanding.

“This is nice,” Tyler murmured dreamily. “Soooooo niiice.”

He was acting like he was drunk, but I knew that wasn’t the case. He could go pint to pint with John and still stay on his feet.

Tyler melted into me even more, and the tone of the hallway changed. People stopped in their tracks and started looking around in wonder.

“It’s time to looove,” he said in a husky voice and started trying to take off my shorts. I yelped and held them up. Then both of his hands slipped under my clothes and started doing wonderful things to me. If we hadn’t been in such a public place, I’d have been more than happy to let nature take its course.

“Tyler! Stop!” I demanded, but he was like a train with a full head of steam. Stopping him wasn’t going to be easy.

The mages in the hallway started gasping and shaking. Several of them fell to their knees and started praying. The woman-of-the-open-mouth started bawling along with many others. They seemed like happy tears, though. It was like everyone was suddenly having a religious experience. Their earthly cares were being lifted, and for a moment, they saw a world beyond survival and pain. Tyler’s blue magic filled the hallway, and I saw dark globs of worry leave their hosts and fly his way.

Tyler ate all the dark stuff, and that only fueled his incubus side. I thought he’d come on to me before, but now his clothes vanished and everything from his flag pole to his anxious hands to his lusty kisses let me know he was ready to take me to the ground and fill my cream donut right there.

“Tyler!” I yelled as I shook him. It wasn’t easy, as he’s bigger and stronger than me. Plus, I was fighting my own flag pole that wanted to let its freak flag fly.

“Tyler! Pull back!” I yelled and smacked him. That seemed to do the trick, so I smacked him again. His eyes started focusing.

“Tyler! You can do this. Get it under control.” I kept encouraging him as his presence got lighter. Finally, it cut it off entirely, and Tyler staggered back.

“Oh. Wow.” Tyler looked around with wide eyes while taking deep breaths. Mages were still crying and praying, and the whole hallway was a mess of emotions.

“I’m so sorry,” Tyler whispered.

“Maybe you should put some clothes on,” I whispered back.

“Oh. Right!” And just like that, Tyler was suddenly dressed in a nice shirt and casual pants. You’d never know he’d been ready to butter my biscuit only a few moments earlier.

“I think we should move out of the blast zone,” Sandy suggested. “I think this is going to take a while to blow over, so this seems like a good time to sneak away.”

We all agreed and quickly walked further down the hallway. Tyler seemed shaken, and we all were a bit shocked at what had happened. Tyler was usually so in control of his magic I had forgotten just how powerful he was.

“I’m thinking your presence is going to need a bit of work before you try that again,” John rumbled to Tyler. “You almost gave a master class about how to do your business.” He got a big grin. “And by business I mean play doctor with your favorite boy toy.”

He wiggled his eyebrows as Sandy smacked his arm.

He also gave me a broad wink and a kind smile. I was so glad John was doing what he did best—diffusing the situation with humor. For some people, I’m sure John would be a bit much. He was always quick with a joke or a pint, and I’m sure there were those who would think he was just a bit too “on” for their taste. As for his pints, nobody could fault them. They were delicious.

The thing is, John only used his power for good. His jokes were always inclusive, and his light teasing was always positive.

“I was just working on my PhD,” Tyler deadpanned—or at least he tried to. His voice quivered a bit, and he gave John a grateful look. Riffing on a subject was what they did best.

“Taking the ol’ one eye to the optometrist,” John continued. “You gotta see well enough to open the gates of Mordor.”

“Winter is coming,” Tyler replied sagely.

“Boys!” Sandy snapped. “This is not the time.”

Then she nodded at Tyler.

“Although, I certainly agree with John. Your technique needs some major refinement before you use it in public. For a moment there, I thought we were going to have to throw a sheet over you two and hang out for five minutes.”

I was just glad we were back to the light teasing stage. That was much easier to handle than the lust in Tyler’s eyes. He was an incubus, but even so, my body reacted so strongly to his touch. There wasn’t anything about him I didn’t like.

His touch was divine.

His scent was home.

His voice soothed me, and the weight of his gaze made my clothes fall off.

There was no way I was going to do anything in front of God and country, but he’d turned me on like a circuit breaker, and my body was still full of sparks. I was flushed with passion, my nipples were hard, and my fishing pole was bobbing like I’d caught a whale.

I kept taking deep breaths and made sure not to look at Tyler at all. I didn’t need any more stimulation right now, and his warm chocolate eyes might send me over the edge.

Annabeth picked up from where she left off, but didn’t appear to have any luck at all. According to her, she was fartless.

Sandy said it was nothing like a fart. It was more like letting your inner light shine. That didn’t seem to help Annabeth either. She tried humming like she always did, but there wasn’t the feeling of presence behind it.

“I think it might be your matrix,” I told her. “It is a stable form of magic, and it keeps any of your power from leaking out. That could be a good thing, like if you were trying to sneak up on someone. But in this case, it’s more like we’re trying to magically shout, and I have no idea how to do that.”

I tried to get my presence going too, but it didn’t work at all. I didn’t know if I was in the wrong mindset, or if it was because I also had a matrix. Or, it could have been that all my magic was small and worked best close to my skin.

Regardless, I gave up for now, and we soon started along the hallway again. This time, Sandy and John led the way, and their combined presence cleared a path for us.

We arrived at the buffet without further incident and joined the line to get in. The place itself was huge, with the ceiling painted like the sky and fancy columns everywhere to give an outdoor Greek plaza kind of feel. There was plenty of seating with lots of tables and chairs. The larger groups had scooted several four-topper tables together, so there were these larger islands of teams and their support crews. Along the right side of the room were special cabana areas for those who deserved special attention and partial privacy.

The buffet stretched the entire left hand side of the room, and it looked like something out of a movie. They hadn’t just put the food out under a heat lamp. Instead, they had built a whole display around all the different types of food offerings. There were all kinds of fruits spilling out of a horn of plenty. There was a barbeque smoker that looked like it was actually smoking, giving authenticity to savory meats and sauces available in front of it. Dionysus poured out wines in the drink section, and fairies made out of sugar floated over the desserts.

If I hadn’t been to the Gathering, I’d have said it was the most creative display of food I’d ever seen. When I thought about the first night at the Gathering and the citrus rum waterfall, or eating the cherry bomb that actually exploded in my mouth, it just wasn’t at that level.

In addition to looking good, the food smelled wonderful too, and I realized I was ravenous. I shouldn’t have been that hungry, but somehow I was.

Although the restaurant was a buffet, there were an awful lot of staff present as well. They were easy to spot, as they all had on burgundy jackets with black pants. They seemed to be everywhere—fetching food, filling drinks, singing songs, and playing music. I even saw one table getting shoulder rubs from two lovely ladies who I thought might be suggesting a whole lot more. It seemed like nothing was off limits with their desire to please.

“The buffet costs two hundred dollars!?” Sandy practically shouted in surprise.

“What?” Annabeth looked around. “That could feed a whole family for a week. There’s no way that’s possible.”

Sandy pointed towards the sign, and we all stared at it in disbelief.

“Tock, is it really two hundred dollars a person?” I asked him. “As in, a thousand dollars for all of us to eat here? For one meal?”

“Is that a lot?” he asked. “I only ask, as I’m not sure of the value of the local currency. I can’t leave the Palace, so I’m not sure how much things cost on the outside.”

“Yes,” I replied emphatically, “that’s a lot. A thousand dollars is almost the rent for a whole month. I know there are super fancy steak houses that cost two hundred dollars for a meal, but this is a buffet. It has to be cheaper than that.”

“I’m sorry for your distress,” Tock bowed quickly. “I was unaware of how this would affect you. There are other places to dine here, but even if I could find an open reservation, they are more exclusive and expensive than this one.”

Tock seemed upset that I was upset, and he started wringing his hands as he bowed again.

“Please wait one moment,” he requested and vanished.

“Were the rooms this expensive?” Annabeth asked Sandy.

“I don’t know,” Sandy replied. “I paid for them in pearls. That’s all they would accept. I really don’t know what the exchange rate between pearls and dollars is. Since we are trying to gain pearls, I thought we’d pay for everything with regular money. I just had no idea it would cost this much.”

John was going to say something, but Tock popped back onto my shoulder again.

“Thank you for your patience,” he said, and he seemed relieved. “I spoke to my fellow apparitions, and we have come up with a solution.”

He flicked his fingers, and blue stars flew to everyone’s Bank Stamp.

“Congratulations, you are now Comrades in Arms, which is our frequent team reward program.”

He flicked his fingers again, and platinum stars flew to everyone’s Bank Stamp.

“Congratulations, you are now platinum members of our Comrade in Arms rewards program, which is only awarded to those who have been here for over fifty tournaments.” He suddenly looked mischievous. “Or to those who have a special upgrade code. This gets you twenty percent off all Palace services while you are here. This excludes direct tournament expenses and anything you buy in the fair, of course.”

He flicked his fingers and this time a little stick figure family icon flew at everyone.

“This is your friends and family discount—which gets you an extra ten percent. And we are going to stack the Honored Guest status on top of that. You are the only team from the Houses, so I was able to get your team listed as Minority Emissaries. I also found out that the Bank, our largest sponsor, used its status to get you into the tournament, so I was also able to get you listed as a Patron Preferred team.”

His fingers were flicking badges to us the whole time he was talking. I was a little leery of accepting the Patron Preferred status, but the badge didn’t specifically say it was from the Bank, so I kept quiet.

“The very best upgrade I could find for the team, though, was related to you, Jason.” He gazed at me with reverent eyes. “I knew there was something special about you when you upgraded my stone. When you opened your Bank status to me, I saw it. You have the Most Favored status with the Bank, and I was able to transfer that to the Palace. You are now Most Favored with the Palace, and that opens many doors for you that would have been closed before.”

He gave me a very deep and gracious bow.

“It is truly my privilege to welcome someone as honored as yourself to this humble establishment. This one is filled with gratitude and joy to be in your presence.”

He looked like he was going to weep with joy again, so I quickly thanked him for all his help on our behalf and kept him moving along. All of the badges of our specials and discounts needed to show in our public information, so Tock took a moment to work with John and the rest of us to make sure we were all set up.

While he was doing that, the entire Ivy League team showed up and cut right to the front of the line.

“Are they allowed to do that?” Annabeth asked.

“Of course,” Tock replied. “They are a premier team, and more than that, they have the strongest presence of anyone in line. So they have every right to do as they please as long as it doesn’t interfere with someone more powerful.”

He settled into a lecturing tone.

“That’s why I needed you to start generating a presence. If you hadn’t, other groups would have stepped in front of you, and it may have taken a long while before you were seated.”

Once we were finished with all our new badges, I looked around at what we were displaying above our heads, and it all seemed a bit much. The Most Favored badge in particular was hard to ignore. It was quadruple the size of my tournament participation star, and while it was beautiful in its own way, it slowly spun on its vertical axis and was impossible to overlook.

With all our bling, I felt like a walking slot machine. I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had walked up to me, put a coin in my mouth, and pulled my arm just to see if they got lucky. I guess I wasn’t the only one as Sandy spoke up.

“Tock, I truly appreciate all you’ve done for us and all the discounts you’ve been able to wrangle for our team…” Then she paused thoughtfully. “Actually, how much of a discount do we get now? How much is this buffet?”

“Most of the discounts stack on each other,” Tock said excitedly. “Also the discounts won’t be exactly the same in all venues. For this one, you should get a seventy percent discount, which would bring the cost down to sixty dollars per person. The wild card here is the Most Favored status. With that, it’s possible your team might dine for free.”

“Really?” Sandy sounded excited now too. “Free?”

“Maybe,” Tock nodded. “I’ve never been assigned to any team with the Most Favored status before, but according to the other apparitions, it should count for a lot.”

Sandy looked at our display of bling with fresh eyes, and I could sense she was going to let it go, but John spoke up.

“Tock, the only problem with all these visible badges is that they tell our competitors too much about us.”

Tock bowed politely, but looked confused.

“We are being supported by the Bank, but it doesn’t want to officially sponsor us until we first have some success in the tournament. Also, I’m afraid the Most Favored status will provide a clue to our affiliation with powers we don’t want to reveal. A smart team could figure out what we can do and work to counter us.”

“Of course, of course,” Tock said thoughtfully. “One moment please.” He vanished again and reappeared a few seconds later.

“I have a suggestion. What would you think of changing the visibility of your badges so only the servants and other residents of the Palace could see them? They wouldn’t be visible to any of the teams, their support staff, or any other spectators.”

“I like the idea,” I said. “That way, we still get the discounts, but hopefully we are a little less obvious.”

Everyone agreed, and Tock quickly made the changes. Of course, the others in line with us had seen all our badges show up, and they had caused more than a little excitement. There had been a lot of muttering and pointing and more than a few incredulous looks. When all our badges vanished from their view, that caused a fresh round of murmurs, but we just ignored them and settled in to wait our turn. There were only four groups in front of us and one group that had arrived behind us.

When Ivy League had shown up, they’d kicked us down to fifth place, but there were still plenty of open tables available. I didn’t think we’d have to wait long. This was a buffet after all, not fancy table service.

The groups around us quickly settled down, and Ivy League didn’t seem to notice anything at all. They just ignored everyone behind them as beneath their notice. They were a premier team, so I was sure they were used to being seen and pointed out. It was probably easier to look the other way and not acknowledge anyone, rather than have to stop for pictures or autographs or whatever the equivalent was in this magical world.

Or maybe they were just tired from their trip.

‘Or maybe they”re all assholes,’ my Analytical Side spoke up.

‘Maybe,’ I laughed. ‘I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, though.’

My Analytical Side sniffed in disbelief and gave them the hairy eyeball. It was very clear that he had no doubts at all. They were assholes.

One of the wait staff approached the line at a leisurely pace, until he saw the premier team at the front of the line. Then he quickly increased his pace. This guy had some extra gold trim to go with his burgundy jacket and seemed to have more authority than the rest of the servers. He spoke briefly to the guy in the front of the Ivy League team, and there was a lot of bowing and placating words. The Lead Ivy guy did not sound happy at having to wait.

Gold Trim snapped his fingers, and four servers appeared like magic. He started to give them orders, and I saw his eyes drift down the line. He was probably assessing how many groups were waiting and how fast to seat them. Even with a buffet, it’s not a good idea to seat too many groups too quickly. It was better to have a steady flow of eaters so there was time to refill the displays and keep the food hot.

Gold Trim was all business until his eyes landed on us, then his jaw dropped in surprise. The four servers were already preparing to entertain Ivy League, but when Gold Trim recovered and pointed at us, they stopped in shock too.

Suddenly, Ivy League was passé, and we were the new hot ticket in town. Gold Trim grandly swept down the line towards us, followed swiftly by his four minions. He correctly singled out Sandy as the leader of our group and bowed deeply in front of her.

“Most Favored Madam, it is a great honor to have you and your associates join us at this humble establishment. I hope you have not suffered long. I’m shocked that you are at the common entrance.” He shot a quick glare towards Tock, who just brushed it off.

“When you visit us again, and I’m sure you will after tasting our finest delights, please direct yourselves to our premier entrance. That way I can accommodate you at the standard which you deserve.”

“Well, aren’t you just a dear?” Sandy laughed like a duchess and slipped into her charming mode. She let him kiss her hand and lead her past all the other teams and into the dining room.

The other groups had seen our badges change and disappear, so they didn’t seem that surprised as we walked by them. Ivy League, however, was totally shocked. We were almost past them, when Lead Ivy recovered and started shouting at Gold Trim.

Apparently, it had been a long day, and he’d Had It Up To Here! He’d never been so disrespected in his entire life. His team needed to be seated, and they needed to be seated now! Then he was going to speak to the Person in Charge and make sure that Gold Trim was demoted to the lowest level possible.

He demanded satisfaction, and he demanded it this very instant. He couldn’t understand why Gold Trim was giving preference to a mongrel team when his team was clearly of a higher caliber.

I guess he hadn’t paid attention before, but when he really looked and realized we were a House team, he basically lost it. He was so mad he was spitting. I’m sure it had been a long day, and now being passed over like this was the last straw. He had a tantrum like a two-year-old, and he did everything but roll on the floor and cry.

He cussed out Gold Trim, the servers, and the entire buffet. They were beneath him, and he was only here because the bus had arrived later than expected. He cussed out John, Sandy, and all the Houses while he was at it. He even flared his aura, like a weapon, and tried to drive everyone down to the ground. He was so mad, I’m sure he wasn’t holding anything back, and that’s when John had had enough.

John stepped in front of Gold Trim and brought down the Mountain. There were screams and cries as almost everyone hit the deck. Lead Ivy was still standing, but he was shaking like a leaf. Sandy stepped up beside John, took his hand, and released the Lava.

Separately, they were a force to be reckoned with. Together, as joint Ambassadors of the Deep Earth, they were beyond amazing. Lead Ivy collapsed like a broken straw, joining the rest of his team that was already on the ground. I looked around and realized I was the only person standing for fifty feet around us. Everyone in the line had collapsed. All the mages at the tables near us had fallen to the ground. The support staff was on the ground. Even Annabeth and Tyler were on their knees.

“John! Sandy!” I called quickly. “Dial it back a bit.”

They were both glaring down at Lead Ivy, but once they looked around, they quickly pulled back their power.

“Young man,” John rumbled, “you had best learn to treat others with respect. These servants were only doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. Your team would have been seated shortly. A few more minutes wouldn’t have hurt you.”

The people around us were slowly getting back to their feet, and John paused to make sure he had Lead Ivy’s complete attention.

“I’d suggest you settle down and don’t cause any more fuss. If I find out you’ve caused a problem with the staff, you and I will have words.”

He leaned forward, and Lead Ivy quickly stepped back. That said it all right there. A pecking order had been established, and John was top dog.

John and Sandy still looked angry, but Sandy recovered first. She took a deep breath, summoned a smile, and gave John’s arm a comforting pat.

“I’m hungry, John,” she said brightly. “How about you?”

John growled at Lead Ivy, who quickly scurried back to his team. They all carefully ignored us as John followed Sandy’s lead, took a deep breath, and pulled himself together. John then turned towards Gold Trim, who was straightening his jacket and making himself presentable.

“Like the rabbit said, lettuce proceed,” he said grandly, and Gold Trim took it from there—although he looked slightly confused at John’s wording. Sandy just laughed at her punny man and gave his arm a comforting pat.