“Your bet.”

“I know.”

“Well?”

“Raise fifty.”

“Seriously? Fifty?”

“Count ‘em.” I tossed the coins into the middle of the table and grinned into my cards. Waltin had nothing, and fifty cuvers would nearly bankrupt him. He’d be a fool to stay in.

“Damn it, Tom,” he said, throwing down his cards. “How do you always know?”

Grinning openly now, I scooped up my winnings. “Trade secret.”

Another of the men around the table spoke up. “You chew your lip when you’re bluffing.”

My glare could have melted glass. “Thanks a lot, Chal. You could have waited until he was out first.”

The man shrugged. “You’ve been cleaning us out all night. Thought I could level the playing field a bit.”

Muttering under my breath, I dealt out a new hand of cards. But secretly I was glad they thought my winning streak was due to nothing more than watching for a few nonverbal clues. In reality, it was a little deeper than that.

I read their minds.

Okay, okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. It wasn’t like I could tell exactly what cards the guy had, most of the time, but I could easily get a feeling for how good his hand was, regardless of how well he thought he kept the information hidden. If that failed, there was another talent I possessed, but I preferred not to use it unless I was really desperate. It was too risky.

“This’ll have to be the last round for me, guys,” said the fourth and final man at the table, a slim and slick guy called Nate, whose slightly graying hair made him the automatic dispenser of wisdom around the table. He was the only one there who could give me a run for my money, but tonight even his stack of coins was dwindling.

“Me too,” chimed in Waltin. “I’ve made enough of a donation to the Tomat Foundation.”

“Fine, fine,” I said. “Last hand.”

Afterwards, we gathered up our coins – some took more time than others. Chal and Waltin said their goodbyes and left, but Nate stuck around for a bit longer.

“You did good tonight, Tom,” he said. “Real good. I haven’t been beaten that badly since the championship.”

“You were in the championship game in Insen?”

“Well, no. But I was in the tournament, you see. And they’re good, man. Maybe even better’n you, I’d say.”

I wasn’t taking the bait. “I imagine they are,” I laughed. “I’ll just stick with the small time competition I know I can beat.” The weight of my coin pouch made me smile as I tied it up and attached it to my belt.

“But just think,” Nate pressed. “The money, the fame – the girls.”

The last one caught my attention. “You know what buttons to push, don’t you, Nate?”

“Wouldn’t have gotten into the tournament if I didn’t. One of the best ways to win is to know your opponent.”

“Not gonna work this time. I’ve never had a problem with the girls, and money and fame aren’t much use when we won’t be around to enjoy them.”

The look Nate threw at me was one I’m used to seeing. “This again?” he said.

“The world’s ending tonight, Nate. Better enjoy yourself while you can.”

“What’s your theory this time?”

“Come with me.” We stepped outside into the clear evening and I pointed up at the sky. “You see that star there? It’s not a star at all. It’s a massive chunk of rock hurtling toward us. By my calculations-”

“Ha, calculations,” Nate snorted.

“-It’ll hit us tonight. It’s been good knowing you.”

“Sure thing, Tomat. And this is different from the dozen other times you’ve predicted our untimely demise?”

“Those were… miscalculations. This time for sure.”

“Right. See you next week.” Nate strolled away with a backward flick of his hand.

“No, you won’t!”

“You’re de-” My heart stopped beating for a moment as he froze in midstep. After a second, he spun on his heel and gave me a penetrating look. “You’re delusional,” he said.

“No.”

“You’re a Mentalist. That’s how you beat us so easily!”

“No! That’s not it at all!”

“Yes it is!” Nate insisted. “You’re delusional, you always win at cards, you-”

“No, no, listen,” I said.

This would have to be handled delicately. Using my power, I slipped into his mind as I talked. “Let’s say you’re right. What would you do about it? You wouldn’t turn me in.” As his flow of thoughts passed by my mind, I picked out the one that I wanted and pushed it to the front of his mind.

“No, of course not. That is, as long as I get something out of it.”

Damn. I hadn’t made it strong enough.

“What do you want?” This time, his thoughts slipped past too fast for me to get a solid hold on any of them.

“I want you to win the championship. And I want you to give me half the winnings.”

If there was one thing I didn’t want, it was public scrutiny. But if the thought was already formed in his mind, it would be nearly impossible to change it without breaking him. In the stream of his thoughts, I picked out a few that could be of use to me, and a few that would be devastating. But nothing I found would get me out of the situation.

“Fine,” I said. “But I’ll need your help.” I pushed hard to get him to accept that. Maybe a little too hard, as his eyes glazed over for a moment. Too much of that and his mind would end up shattered. Like I said, Suggestion is a delicate procedure.

“Yes, of course.” His expression said he wouldn’t consider anything else. His mind said he couldn’t.

“Good. Now go home and rest. And don’t tell anyone.” I ground that last one into his mind like a shard of glass. If it broke him, all the better. Instead, he just smiled and nodded.

“See you tomorrow, Tomat.” I said nothing, but unwrapped my mind from his. Even without it, the Suggestions would remain. This time, Nate walked away without a backward glance.

Good thing the world was about to be obliterated, or this could have been trouble.

***

“You have to realize, these guys are good.”

“Shh. Please.” The swish of the cards crossing the table was more than enough to make my head pound. Nate’s voice was fifty times worse.

“Maybe you shouldn’t spend every night drinking yourself into a stupor with a different girl.” Nate continued to deal. The man had no pity.

“Maybe you shouldn’t get me up so early.”

“I told you when I was coming to get you.”

“Shut up and play.”

It was only five days since I had agreed to this insane scheme. The world had not yet ended – though at times I wished it had.

“As I was saying,” continued Nate as he scooped up his cards, “the guys you’re going to be playing are fantastically good. I mean, they beat me almost without trying.”

“So can I.”