Roll of the Dice

Chapter 11

When Tanya first brought up the idea of attacking the Master head on, there was much debate amongst the group. They didn't all agree with the plan of confronting the Master. Of course, Tanya had argued adamantly in favor of her plan. Her reasoning was that if they destroyed the problem at the source then everything else would collapse. To her astonishment, Chris had actually agreed to the idea. However, Lucas argued that they still lacked the skills to take on such a powerful being on their own. Instead, he argued that they needed to focus their resources on taking out the smaller groups. That way the Master wouldn't have his army to rely on. Ultimately, the group did agree that doing a rite of cleansing was a great idea. The cleansing rite would purify any tainted land that the Master or his army touched, which would prevent it from becoming corrupted. However, the cleanse would just have to wait.

Tanya mentally cursed to herself. No one ever listened to anything she had to say and it was frustrating. But in order to maintain their trust she would have to live with the decision. At least the spell that she had cast over Amadan had worked. He hadn't said a word. She smiled slyly. Of course, Tanya could tell that Amadan mistrusted her. And no wonder, she had forced him to reveal the location of the Master and then had made sure that he kept silent. Amadan knew she was up to something. But she also knew that if the others agreed to the plan he wouldn't protest, only advise when needed.

She checked her cellphone. It was now 9:00, Tanya didn't need to be home until midnight. By that time they had finished their discussion and were making plans to go home, however, Tanya wasn't ready to head back to her house. She wanted to do one last thing. So, she waited until the others had left before walking down the street. Once she was clear of Nic's house, she called an Uber.

Once it arrived, she silently got into the back seat and leaned back, staring out the window. No doubt the others were already part way home by now. She sighed. If it were up to her, she wouldn't even go home. She hated going home. Not because she didn't like where she lived. She was well loved and well taken care of. She just hated her family dynamics. Everything was fine when they lived in Edmonton. She had friends, good grades, and best of all, two brothers that she loved to hang out with. But when she turned ten, her mother had been offered a job at Sick Kid's Hospital and suddenly her whole family had to move, leaving so much she loved behind. That was when everything started going downhill.

Just after their move to Toronto her beloved brothers began to act strangely. It was like something inside them snapped. They were fourteen at the time and were beginning to hang out with the weirdest friends. Ones who would wear low hanging, baggy jeans and hoodies in summer. Next, they started staying out later and later, often coming home well past their curfew. It continued with them coming home smelling strongly of skunk—she knew it had nothing to do with the furry creatures that wandered around the neighborhood, more to do with herbal enjoyments. At first her parents didn't really say anything. They hoped it was just a phase. However, after months of this rebellious behaviour her brothers were finally confronted. That led to a giant fight between them and her parents. She watched with tears in her eyes as her brothers left the house in a fury.

They were busted a few weeks after the argument when someone called the police after a gang fight broke out at the high school. Her brothers were charged with drug possession and gang violence and were sentenced to three years in jail. She was eleven. They served their time and when they were released, they finally returned home again. Tanya was fourteen by then and just starting high school. Her brother's shit continued once they got home. At her parent's insistence the two brothers got jobs at the local McDonalds. But that didn't last. They got fired three months in for stealing from the cash box. And since then, they never were able to hold a job. This caused tension in the house; weekly fights would break out and at least one brother would be kicked temporarily out of the house.