Death's Reckoning by Will Molinar Page A

The object of the game was simple, and the amount you could win high, so everyone loved the game. Roll more than the person in line before you on two dice, and if you chose, roll two extra groups of two, either combining them all for a grand total, or laying down the individual bets on each group in a separate line.
    Players could also take side bets on any of the rollers. Up to ten per round. But these were laid off between individuals looking for a grudge match with someone. It was an advantage to go later along the line of ten players on the main table, for each remaining winner had to ‘carry’ whatever bet the people that go after them lay down, regardless of whether they beat their score or not.
    It was an individual choice; carry through each roll after and gain their own winnings; run the table all the way down the line, or cut out after each person went. It was a big risk because any loss after your roll meant all winnings up to that point were forfeit. But then anyone winning the whole table from the first round stood to gain a small fortune in the process.
    Jerrod had only seen two people roll all the way down the table from the first position, and they both had mammoth rolls in their groupings. They took the chance and won out. It was better going last even if the total winnings had potential for less coin because it afforded him a chance of a better pick up not only survivor’s bets who went head-to-head with his roll, but also any lost betters’ amount along the way. Plus it was less risky.
    Third position for him was not a total slap in the face, but it was damn close. The current finished up with the man in seventh position making it head-to-head with the person in tenth. He made rolls of nine, ten, and eight on his groupings of two dice for a total of twenty seven. Impressive.
    The tenth position roller, an older woman who smelled of money, rolled perfect double sixes on her first roll, a ten on the next, and an eight on the final for a total of thirty. She won it all and cheered along with several people near her, including a very beautiful young girl, perhaps her daughter.
    The dealer with his sissy vest counted out her winnings, a sizable stack of coins much to the consternation of every other person at the table. The woman was forced to retire from the game for at least one round. The same was true for the losers, so all ten people left the table to make room for the next set of players.
    Jerrod took his spot at the third position on the oval shaped table. His fingers itched. He had a way to prove they were cheating him, and with proof he would gut every one of these motherfuckers where they stood.
    The first player took their turn, a smallish, nervous looking fellow with a blue doublet overlaid with silver buttons up the front. He rolled two dice. His look of excitement dimmed when the dice came up a one and two for a dismal total of three. Grimacing, he took his second bet, doubling the wager, and rolled again and got a six. He took another turn and rolled well, an impressive ten for a total of nineteen.
    Not a horrible total considering his first two dice. Overall the average total was twenty-one. Jerrod knew it wouldn’t last long, though. Not with nine people yet to go. The man was smart enough to option out of the game and stood there with a defeated look on his face. It wound up being the correct choice as the next player rolled an impressive score of twenty-five.
    Jerrod’s turn.
    He snatched the dice up, rubbed them against his shirt for good luck, and did a quick, undetectable switch with an identical looking pair and rolled them out.
    Bam! A perfect double six, as his doctored dice were tailored so, and the crowd murmured with impressed mutterings. Jerrod smirked and snatched them up again fast in case any of the attendants got some smart idea to examine them. He rubbed them on his chest again, to make it look like a superstitious habit. Most players had a routine they used, and Jerrod