Page 84 of Fortune's Kiss
Alejandro led Mayté through the twisting hallways of the house.But this time they ended up somewhere completely unfamiliar to her.A different elevator.This one was a claustrophobic box that could fit only four people at the most.
Alejandro leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, staring at the floor numbers as they grew higher.His face was completely unreadable.
“I shouldn’t be in here.”Mayté nervously ran her fingers over her braid.“You’ll get in trouble if someone finds out.”
“It’s okay.”He flashed a small smile.“I made my choice that night we met in the library.”
“What do you mean?”she asked, just as the elevator dinged and the door opened.The panel no longer showed a floor number, but instead a calavera.
He took her hand once again.“I need to show you what Fortune’s Kiss really is.”He led her down another hallway.Marigolds dusted the floor and a sweet-smelling smoke wafted through the dim air.They passed by several doors, each large and gilded in gold.Mayté couldn’t imagine what secrets werelocked behind them, but Alejandro instead led her to a red door at the end of the hall.Hazy wisps slipped through the keyhole like ghostly fingers.He fished a large black key from his pocket.
“Where did you—?”Mayté started.
“Misterioso,” Alejandro finished.“Plucked it right from his pocket.”With a small smirk, he stuck the key into the hole.“Perhaps I was a pickpocket as well.”He unlocked the door and yanked it open with a grunt.
A blast of wind and smoke hit Mayté’s face.Marigold petals fluttered around her robe.It reminded her of when she had first come here.The ritual that measured her soul.Back then, she had been filled with a jittery concoction of excitement and nerves.Hubris.Foolish, foolish hubris.But this time, as she stepped into the dim room, her stomach churned with nothing but pure dread.
The biggest altar loomed before her, stretching out to cover the walls.Similar to altars to the dead and Los Santos, it was full of framed photos, painted calaveras, candles, and other trinkets.Hundreds of them.Something about this was off.It wasn’t somber or reverent, but felt more like an elegant abomination.“What is this?”she whispered.
“El Beso de la Fortuna,” Alejandro answered.“Behind the golden possibilities, beautiful illusions, and mystical decadence, this is the truth of Fortune’s Kiss.”He knelt at the center of the room.
Mayté had been so focused on the altar that she hadn’t noticed the floor.There was a circular pool filled with what looked like molten gold.It glowed bright, not burningly so like the sun, but it was brighter than the moon, washing Alejandro’s face in glittering light.The ocean flowed in waves, but this pulsated.Almost like a beating heart.She knelt next to him.
A pleasant feeling washed over her.Suddenly she was wide-awake, and not the least bit fatigued.The confusion and anxiety racing through her mind calmed into lovely bliss.
“You feel it, don’t you?”Alejandro studied her.
“I think so.”She had never gotten drunk, much less had more than a few sips of alcohol, but this was how she imagined intoxication would feel: the way people swayed and smiled without the slightest care as they acted like complete fools.She rested her head on Alejandro’s shoulder.
“At one time this was a potion, but after absorbing so many hopes, dreams, emotions, lives, and souls, it has become the heart of the house.”
“What?”Mayté jolted.That was enough to sober her up.
“Thisis what makes the house aware and sentient.It takes in what you give it and amplifies it.”He stared at the pool, eyes narrowed.“The Gamemakers swim in it, but like everything else here, it comes at a price.There are whispers that it amplifies something dark inside you and corrupts your soul.Like Misterioso and the Banker.They’re different from the rest of the staff.They have their memories, yet they’ve lost their empathy.Misterioso has been here the longest, and he’s the most callous of all.Rumor has it that Gamemakers from the past eventually lose their minds.Everyone wonders if Misterioso will be the next one.”
“How …” Her voice came out hoarse.“How do you know this?”
“Because …” Alejandro hesitated.Mouth shut tight, he ran his tongue over his teeth.“I was on my way to becoming a Gamemaker.All of them were players once—” He ran a hand through his thick hair.“They promise you things—a bit of freedom, some of your memories.Thing is, I only have two choices.Either I become a Gamemaker, feeding off pain and the misery of others, or I let the house consume every last bit of me until there’s nothing left.I can’t grow older here.Can’t die by my own hand.I’ve—I’ve tried.”He frowned, then clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.“I’m stuck.”His voice was hoarse with grief.
“That’s horrible.”Mayté’s voice cracked.Anything short of winning, even surviving, was still damnation.“It all feels so … hopeless.”
“I know.”He stared at her, hazel eyes shimmering in a golden haze.“But there’s more to the story.”He pointed to a painting on the far wall.The canvas stretched out to an amazing length, but even more shocking was the way the image shifted and changed.
First it showed a young woman, the most beautiful woman Mayté had ever seen.The woman lit a candle.The dancing flame almost looked alive.For a second, Mayté lost herself trying to figure out how she could replicate the effect in her own paintings, but Alejandro’s voice pulled her out of her head.
“There was once a mortal woman who prayed to San Fortuno every night, for her family was very cruel and wanted to marry her off to the highest bidder.”
The woman in the painting pressed her palms together in prayer and squeezed her tearful eyes closed.The entire room lit up as a figure bathed in light appeared before her.
“San Fortuno heard her prayers and became quite fond of her.To the point that he eventually appeared to her whenever she prayed.The two inevitably fell in love.”
The woman stepped into the light and embraced San Fortuno.It was a sight that was both beautiful and frightening.
“To protect his love, San Fortuno created a potion, El Beso de la Fortuna.”
The painting changed once again, revealing a vial filled with a glittering golden potion.As soon as a drop hit the ground, everything transformed into a flurry of painted colors.
“The purpose of the potion was to create a place for the woman and San Fortuno to hide together, the woman away from her family and San Fortuno away from the judgment of Dios and the other Santos.The potion reflected their feelings of love, joy, and safety with each other, and made the house a paradise on earth.”
