As most of you know- I don't own Supernatural. Also, sorry for taking so long to get these chapters done.
The backroom of the brothel was dimly lit by a few lanterns and a chandelier hanging overtop the poker table, where five men were currently seated. Four of the five men were fairing rather poorly during this game, while one man was making off exceptionally well. This man's name was William Miner. Nobody at the table knew his name though, as they had all rambled in and had spoken very little to one another as they took their places at the green felt table stained with assorted beverages. If they had known his name though, then perhaps they would have thought twice about playing this particular game of poker. Perhaps they would have thought twice about playing with this man at their table. Perhaps they would have pulled out their guns and shot him on the spot.
William Miner was, perhaps, one of the most famous gamblers in the West. Although he was still a rising star due to his age of 25, he had certainly made progress. He would drift from town to town, looking for the hottest spots in gambling. For William, it didn't matter what the game was because he always had lady luck on his side. Liar's Dice, blackjack, poker, William always took home the most money.
Perhaps this was the explanation of why William had an obsession with it.
The game that was currently being played at the table was going rather favorably for William. He had almost knocked out two of the four remaining players as they were down to their last chips. All Will needed was one good hand, and it would come to him. Raking in his winnings from the round Will waited patiently, surveying the other players from under the brim of his hat, his blue eyes watching every slight facial twitch of the men at the table around him. Every single fidget. Every bead of sweat. William Miner knew he had this game all wrapped up as he started dealing cards to the men.
The loud sound of the double hinged doors swinging open being opened behind William made the men at the table jump. A surly figure strolled into the room wearing his hat brim down over his face. William Miner set down the deck of cards and removed his hat to run a hand through his short blond hair.
"Mind if I sit in for a round Gents?" came a raspy voice from the man who had just entered. He hovered near the empty seat across the table from William.
Nobody looked up from the table to see the man's face, but there were grunts of compliance. The man slid the chair back across the floor and sat down lightly. Putting his hat back on William started dealing two cards to each man at the table, and without the notice of any man, dealt himself two cards from the bottom of the deck.
There was silence as the men surveyed their cards and gauged their chances of success. William Miner placed two chips on the table in front of him, and the familiar clink of chips clacking against one another as they were set down echoed across the table. All had placed chips except the man across from William who sat silently inspecting the green felt from underneath the brim of his hat. He hadn't even touched his cards.
"Ahem," the man coughed and flashed a smile to nobody in particular, but to himself as if he'd remembered something quite comical, "Now, I don't know about you gents, but I'd rather not play a game where I was being cheated, would you?"
The men around the table looked up at the stranger, who did not make eye contact with any of them, but rather continued to chuckle to himself and stare through the table. He had the men's attention. He certainly had William Miner's. Will felt sweat drip down the back of his right ear and he struggled profusely to stare at his own cards, consequently, the winning cards he needed. He wasn't sure how the man had caught him, as he had long ago perfected the slight of hand needed to steal the prize winning cards from the bottom of a deck. But the man had caught him nonetheless.
William let his hand fall to his left side nonchalantly, draping the arm over the back of his chair, but letting none see that he was checking to make sure his revolver was clear in his holster, lest it come down to a gunfight.
The silence in the room was audible.
"What're you talkin' about mister?" One of the men to Will's left piped up.
"I'm so glad you asked my boy," the stranger laughed again, "you see, our friend William Miner over there, yes, William Miner, has undoubtedly dealt himself some lucky cards from the bottom of our truly unforgiving deck."
Hands shot to revolvers and the crack of hammers being pulled back and chairs scraping as men stood up to avenge their losses filled the silence that had once hung in the room like ghostly cobwebs. The man's smile turned into a frown.
"But he's not the one cheating here."
Confusion swept through the men as they pivoted to see what the stranger had to say next.
"I am, because I happen to be pretty good at seeing through other people's cards."
The brim of the man's hat was raised to reveal piercing yellow eyes, and whether out of the primal fear of man or the shock of such a turn of events, the men all aimed their weapons at the stranger and fired.
Four men hit the floor around the table- dead. Their guns had all backfired on them as they pulled the trigger, simultaneously causing the bullet to backfire into their foreheads.
William Miner was sweating visibly now. He was sweating more than he ever had in his lifetime. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the man with the yellow eyes which had never gazed any other direction than William himself once they were revealed.
With one eyebrow raised the man sighed.
"Come now William, I thought you'd have a little more sense than that."
William Miner didn't know what to do; panic coursed through his veins as he gingerly set his gun on the table.
"There's a good boy," chuckled the man, "Now William, I'm here to make you a proposition."
"I reckon I wouldn't want to even consider any sort of proposition someone like you would give me," William stated, barely able to find his voice.
"Haha! You've got some back bone William, I'll give you that. But let's see if you've got any balls, shall we?"
"Are you the Devil, mister?"
"The Devil? Me? No, although I'd like to think of us as friends," the man smiled.
"Well…it seems like you aren't giving me much of a choice but to accept whatever proposition you've got, mister…so why don't you go on and tell me what it is."
"Not true William! I'm giving you a choice: lets play a hand of poker, if you win- you get away scot-free and you'll never hear from me again. And, I'll throw in a million dollars- U.S. of course." The man was still smiling.
"A million dollars…" William Miner didn't think the deal sounded too bad, but he had to ask, "And if you win?"
"Well…I hadn't really thought about it…how about you help me with a little experiment."
"An experiment?"
"Details, details, my boy. Now tell me, are you in or out?" The man held out his hand across the table, the grin never leaving his face.
"For a million dollars mister…shoot, I reckon I have to say yes."
William grabbed the man's hand and shook it firmly. The hand was cold as death itself and William would have regretted the decision almost immediately, had there not been the promise of a million dollars.
The game progressed, with the yellow eyed man almost immediately being revealed as the victor.
William Miner felt his heart leap into his throat and felt his bowels tighten as he realized that his night, lady luck was not with him.
"Looks like the cards favor me tonight, my boy," smiled the yellow eyed man.
William Miner stared fixedly in horror at the man, and at the prospect of what might happen to him. All of them horrific and terrible.
"Sleep tight!" Said the yellow eyed stranger as he snapped his fingers.
If you had asked William Miner what it was like to be deprived of the thing you love the most before his incident with the stranger, he would have simply laughed and said that there was plenty enough in the world that he would never have to worry about that problem.
If you had asked him after- he would have said it was the worst pain in the world he had ever felt, literally and figuratively.
William Miner's hands were now covered with scars and seared flesh from trying to hold the thing he held most dear in his life- money. It burned him nearly to the bone to hold it. Much like the burn which he had found on his side the next morning after the encounter with the stranger:
GREED
William swore an oath the first day he burned his hand. He swore he would kill the demon man for separating him from his true love. He would kill him, and then loot his body, and horde whatever money the man had for the rest of his days. He vowed he would take it out of a box and cradle it each morning- before he took his regular money bath each day.
Spoiler Alert: Next chapter involves an ancestor of some of our favorite people in the Supernatural series...