I felt a tingling on my neck, like cold water dripping down my spine. I heard a rasping little voice in my ear, a voice I recognized. Marina.

What are you up to? she whispered right into my mind.

I’m buying you time, I thought back, as hard as I could.

“House rules say a challenge must be accepted,” said Marina, out loud where everybody could hear.

“This ain’t Baudelaire Quatro’s spot, last time I checked,” said Boss Authority. “You don’t even allow Parsnit here.”

“I do now,” said Marina. “It’s my Place, it’s my rules, and I just changed them. So long as this house stands, I still have a say in what goes on. And I say you have to accept.”

Marina needn’t have bothered. From what they’d told me about Boss Authority, he was wild about magic, he couldn’t get enough of it. I remembered the wore-out folks at Baudelaire Quatro’s, the folks who couldn’t get enough magic. I figured Boss Authority was crazier about magic than all of them put together. He couldn’t resist a game with me, Davey Boy’s son and heir. He couldn’t resist the opportunity to humiliate my pop all over again.

“I don’t like it, Boss,” said Mr. Hugo. “It’s got to be some kind of jackpot.”

“Kindly, Hugo, shut your durn mouth,” said Boss Authority. “If I want your opinion on the matter, I will ask for it. Drusilla, can you handle Marina here?”

“Handle her? I could eat her up and spit her out,” said Drusilla Fey. “I could drink her bones dry.”

“Then what have we got to fear?” said Boss Authority. He turned to me. “I’m game, boy, if you are.”

Pop was struggling against his gag, kicking and groaning.

“Looks like your old daddy’s got something he wants to tell you,” said Boss Authority. “Let him loose, Mr. Hugo.”

Mr. Hugo sliced the rope they had my pop strung up by, but since his hands were bound he couldn’t catch himself and smashed headfirst onto the floor. It busted his noggin open a little, and I could tell it hurt. I hated watching them hurt Pop, I hated it just about more than I could hate anything on this earth, even if I was outright angry with him at the moment. But I couldn’t let any of that show now. I had to keep a cool head, see if I could get Pop to see things my way.

“You can’t let him play,” said Pop. “He’s just a boy.”

“But he’s your boy,” said Boss Authority. “That gives him every right to play. Law by blood, ain’t that what they call it, Drusilla Fey?”

“I believe that’s just what it is, Boss,” she said, her eyes flashing black in the lamplight. “Blood is the law we call upon, yes indeed.”

“Buddy,” said Pop, “what in the sam hill do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m about to play some Parsnit,” I said.

“You’re going to get yourself killed is what you’re doing,” he said, “and it’ll be all my fault. It’ll be every bit my fault.”