Black Lotus

He blinked the memory away and went back to helping Liam streamline his deck.

The first round of play went on, reducing the field to eight. He noted Raul and Tia made it through their first matches. Unfortunately, so did Joel.

His second match was against a better player; Mike whom Tia had pointed out. He was a medium-sized guy with a calm demeanor. He wore jeans and a long-sleeve sweatshirt. Mike hadn't come with his land destruction deck but with a blue and black deck that focused on getting a Lord of the Pit on the table. It was a difficult card to play—powerful and deadly to the opponent but if the owner was unable to sacrifice one of their own creatures to it every turn, it would attack its owner. It caught Danny off guard the first round and he lost. He didn't panic but simply cycled through his sideboard. Every color in the Magic game had two allied colors and two enemy colors. In his own deck of green and red, green was allied to white and red and opposed black and blue—Mike's two colors—which meant he had some counters available. He swapped out a handful of cards and they began the second round. Mike relied heavily on his Islands for blue mana and played several ... only to sigh when Danny played a green Tsunami that destroyed every Island in play. With the bulk of his mana cards gone, Mike quickly fell. The scenario repeated the third match, save that Mike had just played the dreaded Pit Lord. Mike followed that up with a Lightning Bolt that killed Mike's only other creature, a sad-looking merman. With no mana and no creatures to sacrifice, Mike's own Pit Lord killed him in two turns.

"Good match," Mike said in his quiet voice. He extended a hand.

Danny shook it. "Thanks. I like your deck. I'm sure we'll do this again."

Mike gave him a brief smile, gathered his cards, and left the table. He had no sooner risen than Tia flopped in the vacant seat across from Danny. She slapped her deck on the table and glared at him. He snickered. "I take it things didn't go well."

"No," she said. "Bad luck and I screwed up by wasting a Counterspell instead of saving it. I could have beat him."

"You're too impatient."

She gazed at him, her eyes intent. "I just know what I want and I don't like waiting."

Her look made Danny nervous but he wasn't sure why. "So how'd you get into Magic, anyway?"

"Through Raul, how else?" Tia's scowl abated. "Remember, I used to follow you guys around and try to read comics and watch Star Wars with you and stuff. This seemed natural. It's fun. I like the art on the cards, too."

"Who's your favorite card artist?"

"Melissa Benson. The Shivan Dragon is beautiful. I like Mark Tedin too." She narrowed her eyes. "Was that a trap question, to test my geek credentials?"

Danny laughed. "No, I was curious. I know better than to test you like that. I don't want to be on the receiving end of your temper."

"Smart man."

She beamed at him and he felt himself smiling in return. Just looking at Tia elicited some feelings Danny wasn't sure he should be having. He cleared his throat. "Don't get me wrong; I think it's great you love the same stuff as me and Raul. But don't you worry that other folks will think you're a nerd?"

"No," she scoffed. "Why the hell would I? Guys seem to like me being into comics and Nintendo. And if a woman looks down her nose at me because I like that more than TV or shopping, screw her anyway. Besides, I do it for me, not them."

"A true geek girl."

"You know, I never liked that phrase. Can't I just be a geek like you guys, without the 'girl' part?"

"But you are a girl, Tia."

Tia placed her elbows on the table, bent her wrists, and laced her fingers together. She rested her chin on her fingers. Her eyes were deep, mysterious pools. "I'm glad you finally noticed, hermano."

Danny stared at her, his pulse accelerating. Tia's stare was bold and challenging. Her lower lip caught between her teeth. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He blinked and looked away.

The fuck are you doing, man? This is Tia. Your best friend's sister. Practically your sister.

As if Danny's thought had summoned him, Raul slouched into the seat next to him. Under his breath, he muttered, "Fuckin' asshole."

"Lemme guess: Joel?"

"Yeah. Fucker beat me in two straight rounds. It's not just that, you know?" Raul flipped his hand in the direction of the front room, where he'd been playing. "He has to get in his little snide digs-n-shit." He sighed. "How'd you two do?"

Tia shrugged. "Won the first match, out now."

"Moving on," Danny said.

"If you win, you're gonna play Joel. I don't think the other guy left in our bracket has a great deck." Raul gave him a mock punch to the arm. "Good luck."

Danny's semi-final match went well. His opponent, the one who had ousted Tia, had a straight black deck, for which Danny had not brought much to counter. As a color, however, black was ill-equipped to deal with artifacts, including artifact creatures like Danny's Juggernauts, and he rolled to victory in two games.

Raul slapped him on the shoulder in congratulations. Tia bent and kissed his cheek. As she pulled back, the vanishing mass of her hair revealed to Danny a smirking Joel, who stood watching them. "Hey, I'd like to get in on that action."

Tia flipped him the bird. "In your dreams, jerk."

Joel only laughed and sat across from Danny, plopping his pack on the floor next to him.

Phil and Barry appeared. "All right, guys. Last match. Winner takes two Legends packs home. One-pack consolation prize for the fallen."

Danny figured their entry fee just covered the cost of the prizes, since Legends booster packs were a limited run and getting harder and harder to find. But he was sure Phil made out all right; many players had bought other packs, gaming supplies, and snacks while at the tournament.

Joel leaned back in his chair. "All right, Carmichael. Let's see what you've got."

Joel's deck was white and blue, relying on healing and protection. Blue counterspells interrupted Danny's damaging red spells, and the white Disenchant cards kept wrecking his artifacts. Still, in the end, Danny was able to persevere.

"Not bad," Joel said. "Now it's time for me to kick your ass."

"We'll see, Jefferson."

The second round went to Joel. Danny started with an awful combination of high-cost cards in his hand and by the time he recovered, Joel was able to field two Serra Angels, powerful aerial attackers that flew over Danny's creatures and eventually overwhelmed him. Joel's answering smirk got under Danny's skin but he put into practice the discipline he'd learned in the Army: no matter what happens, keep a cool head.

His luck improved in the third round as he was able to destroy Joel's Plains cards and deny him his white magic, and use a Hurricane, which damaged all flying creatures, to sweep Joel's Angels from the table. It was tight, but with four life points left, Danny was able to throw a big enough Fireball at Joel, who had already tapped all his land cards for the turn and was unable to counter or avoid it, knocking Joel to zero life.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief and sat back. Raul shouted and Tia jumped up and down twice. The other members of the tourney who had stuck around all clapped.

Phil nodded. "Good job, Danny. I'll get your prizes." He left. Barry moved off to some other task.

Joel smirked. "Not bad, Carmichael. Of course, if I'd brought out the big guns, you'd have been screwed."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Jefferson. You're so full of shit."

"Really?" Joel reached into his backpack and produced a binder, flipped it open to the front page, and shoved it across the table. "That's what I'm talking about."

Danny's eyes widened. The binder was filled with pocketed plastic sheets, nine pockets to a sheet. The first page displayed a series of five artifact cards across the top row and left and right sides of the center. The five cards depicted a series of gems, one corresponding to each of the colors of magic.

Mox gems.

The bottom row held three blue cards that were out of print and highly sought-after. Danny scanned the three cards: Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, and Timetwister. A series of powerful cards that could tilt the balance of any game. All eight of those cards looked to be in excellent shape. His eyes drifted to the center card.

It was an unassuming-looking card. The art depicted a simple black flower with no embellishment. Danny froze.

Black Lotus.

He closed his eyes in disbelief but when he opened them, the entire sheet of cards was still there. The fabled "Power Nine"—nine cards that had been deemed so powerful and game-breaking they had been removed from print. New tournament formats were emerging where the cards were not even allowed to be played.

Joel laughed at Danny's obvious amazement. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I break these out and you're finished." He slammed the book shut. "Maybe next time, when there's something worth playing for."

Phil returned with their prize packs, handing two to Danny and one to Joel. Joel ripped his open, thumbed through the cards, and placed them on the table. "All crap." He put his binder and cards in his pack, tossed Danny a mocking salute, and left.

Danny watched him leave, his eyes burning a hole in the guy's back.

Phil watched Joel saunter out. "Okay, since he already opened the pack, I guess you can have those cards too, Danny."

Danny spotted Liam watching from the end of the table. "Nah. Liam, you take these."

"Really? Thanks." The kid gave him a shy smile and scooped up the discarded pack.

#

Raul slouched left and right as he hammered away on his controller. Danny laughed. "You leaning isn't going to make you move better."

"Shut up!" On-screen, Donkey Kong died a glorious death. Raul glared at him. "Fine. Put your money where your mouth is, ese."

"Challenge accepted."

"Uh-uh! Drink first."

Danny took a swig of his beer. They'd had this ritual since they were in high school: one drink between turns. He was glad that both his and Raul's parents had allowed them to drink alcohol, as long as they did it at home. He had to admit it had worked since neither of them went out partying and boozing, even when they were old enough to do so. Instead, they stayed in, played video and board games, and got totaled.

His reminiscing cost him, as his character plunged off a cliff. "Damn it."

"Nice move," Tia chortled. She sat behind him on Raul and Tia's worn sofa, while he and Raul sat cross-legged on the floor.

Danny handed up the controller. "Let's see you do better."

"What do I get if I do?"

Raul and Danny looked at each other. "Respect?"

She snorted and took the controller. Ten minutes later, Danny had to admit she was actually pretty good. When he said as much, she smirked. "I know that."

"I can't watch this ass-whipping." Raul hauled himself to his feet and wandered into the kitchen.

Danny reclined and watched Tia. She leaned forward on the couch. Her brow furrowed in concentration. Her eyes were focused and mouth tight. His gaze wandered across the smooth skin of her cheeks and down her long neck. She'd grown into a very pretty young woman. He didn't even realize he was staring until she said, "Problem, Danny?"

"Huh? No, my mind was wandering."

A smile spread over her lips even though her eyes stayed on the screen. "Wandering to what? Or are you too embarrassed to say?" Before he could answer, she sighed. "They got me."

Danny looked at the score on the screen. "Well, you still did better than us."

A knock sounded at the door. Raul's voice drifted from the kitchen. "Danny, get that."

"I got it," Tia said as she bounced off the couch. "It's probably Jesse. She was coming here to pick me up."

She opened the door, revealing a blonde girl the same age. Tia and Jesse squealed and hugged each other. Tia let her in and pointed to Danny. "Jesse, this is Danny."

Danny nodded to her. The girl smiled and whispered something in Tia's ear, who only blushed. Danny thought the blush gave her skin an incredible glow.

Raul wandered back into the den. "Hey, Jesse. What's up?"

"Nothing, came to get Tia, we're going out."

"Cool, you all have fun. Hey Dan, I'm gonna walk to the Circle K next door and grab some more beer. Be back in a few."

"Here, I got this one." Danny fished two fives from his wallet and handed them to Raul, who left.

Tia and Jesse vanished into Tia's bedroom and the door closed. Danny returned his attention to Donkey Kong Country but his thoughts meandered. He thought it was cool that Raul and Tia had been able to afford an apartment together. Danny's folks had let him crash at their place for a few months until he could get himself established. He'd been taken on as a staff electrician at one of the local service companies. He figured that would do for a little while until he could strike out on his own. There was Tucson Electric, and the utility company was always looking for folks with experience. He'd also put out feelers to a few contractors. Danny had already checked into getting a one-bedroom in the same complex as Raul and Tia and, pending his credit approval, would know next week.

It had been less than four minutes when Tia's door opened. Jesse hurried through, bearing both a large bag over her shoulder and a shit-eating grin on her face. "Nice to meet you, Danny."

She was out the front door before he could say anything. He stared after her, then shrugged. There was no explaining what women did. He went back to playing.

"Ahem."

He glanced at Tia and did a double-take. Gone were her jeans and tee shirt. Instead, she now wore a low-cut tank top that, given her modest breast size, produced an impossible amount of cleavage. A frilly mini-skirt that was not much bigger than a belt encircled her firm, slender thighs. Danny's mouth went dry. "Tia?"

"You like? It's a new outfit." She strutted between Danny and the television and faced away from him. Her rear was almost level with his face. He knew he needed to look away but couldn't.

Tia stretched her arms over her head and bent forward. Her skirt rode up her hips, revealing a pair of skimpy black panties across the tightest ass he'd ever seen. A purr emerged from her throat as she straightened up. "Mmm, good stretch. Well, I guess I better go. Jesse's waiting." She sauntered to the door. As she pulled it open, Tia glanced across her shoulder at him with her smoldering brown eyes. She stepped out and was gone.

Danny sat stunned. He wasn't sure what had just happened. And his erection was enormous.

He was still sitting there when Raul returned. His friend took one look at him and said, "Hey, hermano. You look like you've seen a ghost." He laughed. "You're pasty, even for you."

He swallowed hard. "Raul, man, I don't know how to tell you this ..."

"Tia finally made her move, right?"

Danny blinked. "What?"

"Her little outfit. I saw her in the parking lot and gave her a bunch of crap about going out dressed like that. Fortunately, she wasn't going to keep that on. Jesse had a change of clothes for her in the bag. She wore that get-up for you."

"Huh?"

Raul laughed. "I love you like a brother, ese, but you're still a dumb bastard—dumb and blind. Tia's been madly in love with you since we were kids. She's been carrying a torch since you left. I mean, she had some boyfriends through high school and into college but they were just placeholders. Last guy, she was just kinda casual with. As soon as she found out you were coming back to town, she ditched his ass faster than you could say, 'Hey.' In fact, I think the reason she started playing Magic is because she knows you like it so much."

Danny shook his head. It's crazy. I mean, this is Tia. She's hot but ... "Dude, I didn't know."

"I know you didn't." He sat next to Danny and offered another beer, which Danny took. "In case you hadn't noticed, Tia's not a kid anymore."

"I noticed. She made sure I noticed."

"If you want to go out with her, I'm okay with it."

"You are?"

"Sure. If you did and got along great, it means my two favorite people in the world would be happy." He grimaced. "If you do, and you and her start sleeping together, I don't want to hear any details."

"I don't know." Danny shrugged. "She's awesome and I love her to death but I never thought about her like a girlfriend. It might be weird, you know?"

"I won't tell you what to do, Dan. Just do what feels right." Raul picked up his controller, and deadpanned, "Of course, if you hurt her, I'll fuck you up."

"I think you know I'd never do that on purpose."

"I know you wouldn't. Now, come on. We've only got—" He looked at his watch. "—ten more hours to play games and get drunk before bedtime. Besides, you said you could beat me at Tecmo Bowl now and I think you're full of shit. Load it up and pick up that controller."

"You're on."

#

Danny heard a knock at the front door. A moment later, his mother called him. "Daniel? Your ride is here."

"Okay," he returned. He hefted his backpack and left the bedroom, which was still crammed with boxes. Thinking about that made him grin; he'd been able to get an apartment a building over from Raul, in the same complex. It was close to his folks and his job, and he'd be able to take it in the middle of the upcoming week, once the manager finished replacing the carpet. Danny loved his folks but he'd be happy to get his own place.

In the meantime, there was a comic book show in town and he and Raul were going to check it out. He hummed to himself as he made his way to the front door—and stopped.

Tia stood in the doorway, grinning at him, in jean shorts that came to mid-thigh and a tee-shirt depicting Catwoman. She spun a keyring on her finger. Her legs were smooth and tanned. Danny's voice was halting. "Tia? Uh ... where's Raul?"

"He had to help Mama and Papa with some things today, so it's just you and me."

"Uhm, okay." She'd been busy with school and soccer, and him with work and moving, so they hadn't spoken since two weekends previous, when she'd all but shoved her ass in his face.

She linked arms with him. "Come on, Danny. Let's go see if we can find that Wolverine #1 you wanted."

He waved goodbye to his mother as he and Tia walked to Raul's car. His mom watched with a knowing smile on her face, which made Danny shake his head.

Did everyone know but me? He gestured to the car. "I'm surprised Raul gave you the keys to the Regal."

"Yeah, he lets me drive it on special occasions. Let's go."

They chatted on the way to the show. Tia acted as if nothing had happened two weeks earlier. She was upbeat and excited. She asked him a lot about his job and, in turn, he asked her how school was going. They reached the Marriott, where the show was being held, and went in. Tia took his arm again and refused to let go. Danny only half-scanned the displays and comic paraphernalia for sale. He kept up the banter with her and after a while, he discovered he was enjoying his interaction with Tia more than he was enjoying looking at the tables. She was as bright and witty as he remembered her but there was maturity—an underlying gravitas to her words—that incited respect and appreciation. He listened to her describe her goals of graduating, of building a family, and had to admit that she truly wasn't the awkward kid he remembered.

She is a woman now, and not just physically. She's grown up a lot ... and I like it.

They rounded a table and nearly bumped into a mousy young woman, with frizzy blonde hair dangling over her glasses. Her eyes widened. "Danny?"

Even six years after graduation, he recognized her. "Hey, Kristen. Long time, no see."

Kristen wrapped her arms around him. "Oh my God, it's been so long. How have you been?"