Prime Dolan had his eyes glued to his window. The zoomed-in faces of the Prime Book owners were on the screen. Troy and Rusty had such unique shapes, though he found Xarxos and Rok a bit…mundane. Cyclops and Minotaurs were a dime-a-dozen around here. Somehow, this group had managed to defeat two of the strongest Book Owners relatively easily, all things considered.
Dolan heard the door open behind him and spared it a glance. Old Dolan walked in, stroking his walrus mustache, looking rather pleased. Dolan had grown to despise his Old self.
The man had been nothing but a nag, pestering him constantly about fighting the other Book Owners. Dolan had grown to enjoy his casino, despite his initial hesitancy. He’d grown fond of his other Selves, they’d really pulled together as a team. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to develop a rapport with them…he hated himself, after all.
“So you finally hooked them.” Old Dolan sneered. “Took you long enough! Now all we need is to get their Books and we’re halfway to our goals.”
“Do we even need their Books? They don’t seem dangerous and based on the information they gave, they’re each sharing a Book.” Dolan shrugged. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t just treat them like normal guests.”
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” Old Dolan screeched. “Like normal guests? Are you fucking retarded? What about power and strength? How about becoming GOD?!”
“Of course I want that!” Dolan snarled. “But look at the others! Look around you! We’re having a fucking blast! I wanted a challenge and I get one every hour of every day!”
“You listen here.” Old Dolan strode forward, face an inch away. “They aren’t here to play games you imbecile! They are here for your Book. If you fuck around, you’ll meet the same fate as the others they’ve defeated.”
“Like what?” Dolan stood his ground. “The fate you saw in other timelines? I think we both know they aren’t the same people.”
Old Dolan backed away and paced.
“There was an entrepreneur named Sam. Created sex toys. We actually have several of his models as prizes.”
“A pervert. And?”
“An innocent who was raised in a sadistic family and was broken. Owned the Book of Transmutation. They turned him into a chew toy for their pet Nessie.”
“Okay.” Dolan cringed, but it was no worse than what they did to anyone here. He wasn’t the kind that threw stones in glass houses. “Anything else?”
“There was a girl named Sophia. She was the Owner of the Book of Myth. She was a sex trafficking victim, before. Once they got her Book they sold her to a demon as a horny pit fiend sex slave.”
Dolan shuddered. “And the Book of Body?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. He’s acquired his Book in this timeline.”
Dolan nodded, turning back to the group of four.
“Which of them is the most dangerous? Troy or Rusty?”
“Neither.” Old man Dolan snorted. “Don’t judge a Book by its cover. That minotaur there is the threat. In the few timelines I’ve encountered him, he’s evaded death and hasn’t been defeated. Problem is, we know next to nothing about his past, save that he was called “Tex” at one point.”
“I feel like you’re making some rather large leaps in logic.” Dolan frowned. “Judging from his current behavior, he seems to have a temperament similar to MB Dolan.”
“Are you trying to say he’s nice?”
Dolan shrugged.
“The only thing nice about him is that whenever a Book Owner loses he gains all their assets.” Old Dolan scowled. “He’s a hypocritical moralist who keeps Troy on a leash. More importantly, he’s likely thinking of ways to claim ownership of this casino.”
“You really think Xarxos is capable of doing that?” Dolan chuckled. “This is sounding personal, Old Man.”
Old Man Dolan’s face went white with rage.
“Myth City ringing any bells, Dolan?”
“Yeah, it’s-”
“FAKE! NOT REAL! It was called LA!” Old Man Dolan shouted. “It’s a city on the back of a Lion Turtle, which doesn’t fucking exist!”
Dolan swallowed. “So?”
“Who is the Lion Turtle?” Old Man Dolan rolled his eyes. “Jesus man, think about it!”
Paradox. Dolan shivered, trying not to think about it. The Lion Turtle was intelligent yet slumbered for two hundred years before moving. If it was a person…well, with a millennia of memories, they wouldn’t be a person anymore. He’d used the Book on people to alter their memories. Even a few years could radically change someone’s outlook.
“So what do you suggest?”
“Bet their Books.”
“Right off the bat?” Dolan scoffed. “No lube, no foreplay?”
“Do you want them to find patterns?”
“There are no patterns.” Dolan snarled.
“You fool.” Old Dolan shook his head. “You’re the pattern! A poker player’s biggest weakness is himself! The more the play our games, the more they can figure out how we think!”
“And we can see how they think.” Dolan smiled. “You keep acting like you’re the smartest person in the room, Old Man. You are Me.”
“I’ve given them their orders.” Old Man Dolan walked towards the door.
“Who?”
“The Other Dolans.” The Old Man called over his shoulder as the door slammed shut.
Then he was gone.
“Motherfucker.” Dolan spat.
The Old Man. He kept claiming to be here to help, to guide. The casino was Prime Dolan’s, he assured him. But every time a real decision needed to be made, it was HIS orders the others followed. It was becoming increasingly obvious to Dolan that the OM was going to back-stab him as soon as Dolan got his hands on those Books.
“What to do, what to do…” Dolan paced his office.
Movement on the screen caught his eye.
Three anthropomorphic foxes had entered the casino. The twink-looking fox was carrying a rather large leather-bound tome. They approached the check-in desk. Dolan zoomed on on a rather cute, young-looking face of the Book Owner.
“Hi, I’m Todd.” said the skinniest fox. “I’m the Owner of the Book of Transfiguration.”
Darla, the lamia receptionist, smiled and looked up at his window.
Dolan rushed to his phone. “Darla, what timeline is he from?”
“Uh, .02% Deviation from Prime, sir.” Darla replied, smiling apologetically to her three guests.
“How is this even possible?” Dolan whispered.
“Sir?”
“Erm...give them VIP accommodations and send them to me.” Dolan said.
He hung up and paced the room. How could he turn this into an advantage? A .02% deviation was close enough to Prime that Paradox was mostly irrelevant. He’d likely be able to merge his Book. All he needed was to get it out of that fox’s paws.