I grabbed my stuff and headed to the door in a haze. It cleared abruptly when Mr. Thomas grabbed my arm. He waited until the ladies had disappeared down the stairwell.
"You broke up with Sienna? Before she died?" he asked. The white clenched lines around his lips deepened. His grip on my arm was painful. "Does Quinn know?"
"Know what?" I asked.
"That you killed her sister," Mr. Thomas said.
Chapter Fifteen
Quinn
I thought about canceling my participation in the tournament 100 times on the short drive to Vegas. The Luxor Casino was an easy drive from Summerlin, but my father's ominous mood filled the car. I did not dare ask him what was wrong because I could not stand to hear another lecture about my life choices.
Was this all worth it? I asked myself again and again.
Owen seemed to think I should break all ties with my parents. The thought was appealing, but after Sienna's death, there was no way I could leave them. It would be too heartless. All I could do was endure my father's seething disapproval and try to make the best of it.
He said nothing as we walked across the white, shining floor of the Luxor's lobby. The tall pyramid walls reached up above us, but he saw nothing. He waited while I registered and paced back and forth while I looked for Owen and Anya.
My portion of the tournament was taking place in one of the smaller ballrooms, and it was there I found Owen.
He kissed the top of my head. "Good luck."
The tension between him and my father was palpable, and I was glad to find my computer console and take my place. Somehow, I had missed what could have only been an awful exchange between Owen and my father. I wanted to figure out what it could have been, but the Dark Flag challenge was already being announced.
"And thanks to one of our top players, the Green Witch Ayaan, this promises to be the hardest challenge posed to newbies yet. So, good luck to you all," the announcer said.
Within minutes of starting the game, Anya had enthralled three players, stunned two others, and sent five searching in the opposite direction of their goal. When I decrypted her first two riddles, she tried to cast a Memory Spell on me that would have sent me back to the beginning of the game. I managed to deflect it with a Shattered Mirror Charm I had discovered only the night before.
Anya countered with a high-level Easter egg that had the crowd booing. She had stepped far outside the agreed-upon realm of play in order to stop me. My only consolation was that the crowd of players and onlookers had all noticed.
Even the announcer and judge of the tournament bracket took my side, because when it came time to call the rankings, I was placed among the top three players, instead of listed with the defeated.
"It seems your friend made a fool out of herself," my father said.
"Is that your way of congratulating me?" I asked.
He gave a gruff smile that seemed to cost him. "Impressive. I can see why this hobby has an appeal for you."
Hobby. Of course my father would never see it as more. His dismissal only made me more determined to use the rest of the tournament activities to make contacts. I would show my father there was a whole world there and uncover exactly what my career choices could be.
I left my father to thank the judge for his decision. As I wove through a crowd of players that wanted to congratulate me, I ran into Owen.
"Did you talk to your father?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "He actually choked out the word 'impressive.' Not really a wholesale endorsement, but at least I didn't make a fool of myself."
Owen shot my father a look across the ballroom. "Right, yeah. The Shattered Mirror Charm was an amazing move. Just shows that players don't need the high-level weapons if they have creativity. Nice job."
He was speaking to me like I was a stranger, and I half-expected him to pat me on the arm like a child. Owen was taller than me, and scanning the crowd as I waited for him to celebrate with me.
"Nice job? I thought it'd at least be worth a drink. Maybe lunch? I'm sure my father wants to get back to work and I thought we could hang out for a while."
"Maybe after my events. I've got to find Anya and give her my car keys before I head to a panel discussion."
"Is everything alright?" I asked. He had yet to make eye contact with me. "Did my father say something to you at your place?"
"Quinn, look, I'm sorry. I know your rank is a big deal, but I've got work to do here. Alright?" Owen said. He kissed the top of my head. "Keep your phone on and I'll send you a message when I can meet up."