Blackjack

"Let's keep it simple." Lois stared fixedly into Blaze's eyes. "Blackjack."

"Very well." The demon matched the reporter' stare, even as she began to shuffle the cards, slim fingers working the paper rectangles by touch alone. "And what will you bet?"

Lois blinked.

"You're not restricted to one chip, you know. You could try for all four at once..." The light flashed off the golden chips that represented the women's souls. "...or we can take it slow."

The reporter felt a hand hesitate as he looked down at her chips. "If I should lose these...?"

Blaze smiled. "I can only lose these souls once. But you may place yourself on the line as many times as you like."

The demon placed the shuffled deck on the table between them. Instinctively, Lois reached over to cut it.

I can lose. If I lose, I get fucked. If I lose repeatedly, I get fucked repeatedly. Feeling a little guilty, the reporter took a deep breath...and pushed one chip forward.

Mouth.

Blaze's face was neutral as she pushed a single of the four golden chips forward. Diana Reynolds stared up at Lois.

The demon dealt the cards. One card down in front of each of them, and then one card up... A seven of Diamonds in front of Lois. The Queen of Clubs in front of Blaze. The women looked at their respective facedown cards, Lois lifting just a corner to peek...Jack of Hearts. Seventeen. Not bad. Lois calculated what the odds would be to hit...when Blaze turned over the paper card in front of her, revealing the Ace of Hearts.

"A natural," Lois breathed.

Blaze pushed herself away from the table, spreading her legs.

"I'll cash my prize in now."