Chosen Chapter 9: Viva Las Witches

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As the bright lights flashed and the music played loudly through the streets, twenty-seven year old investor Thomas Ward walked down the Las Vegas Strip. His life was in ruins. A bad investment had caused his company to go bankrupt in a matter of days, causing him to lose everything. His girlfriend, who apparently was only interested in his money, had left him and had hooked up with his best friend. He had nothing left, except for the suit he was wearing and the little money he had left in his wallet. Winning it all back at the casino seemed like his only course of action.

As he crossed the street, Thomas' eyes suddenly caught a flashing sign, the Three Wishes casino. He had never heard about it or seen it before, but there were beautiful and scantily clad women standing by the entrance that drew him closer. They were dressed in colorful Arabic costumes, like women in a desert harem.

"Welcome to the Three Wishes Casino." One of the women, a redhead, said as he approached her. "Is this your first time?"

"Yeah." Thomas replied.

"Well, then you're in luck." The woman said. "Tonight, we have a special deal for new visitors. A chance to win big. First chip is free."

The woman held out a chip and Thomas accepted it. He saw it was light blue and had a symbol of an oil lamp on it. It seemed to glow at him and Thomas could see opportunity flash before his eyes.

"I can win it all back." Thomas said under his breath.

"And so much more." The woman added with a smile. "Just head right in and forget all your troubles."

Thomas nodded and headed inside. The entire casino was in an Arabic theme, like he had walked into a story of one thousand and one nights. The entire wait staff was dressed in similar harem costumes, with the men shirtless except for a small vest and wearing puffy harem pants. A waitress handed him a blue drink and Thomas took a sip. Instantly, he felt his worries melt away. This place was amazing, a place to get his life back, better than ever.

Thomas headed to a roulette table, which was operated by a large and muscular man in a dark blue robe and turban. He placed a bet and prayed for it to work. The ball rolled on the roulette table and landed on the right spot. Thomas cheered in celebration and the others clapped. The dealer handed him his winnings. Perhaps this was his lucky night.

After several rounds of winnings, Thomas had gathered quite a fortune, though his luck seemed to go downhill. He was handed another drink by a waitress. As he took a sip, Thomas looked at the pretty blonde and noticed she had a golden collar around her neck, as well as her wrists. These costumes were pretty realistic, she looked like an actual slave.

Thomas continued gambling and he became more reckless. After a few more rounds, his profit was gone and he was actually building up a debt. However, he was not willing to give up, his luck could turn around again. Someone padded him on the shoulder. He turned and saw it was another large man in a dark robe and turban.

"The manager would like to see you, Mister Ward." The man said. "Please follow me."

Feeling a little intimidated, Thomas got up and followed the man, who was probably a security guard. As he followed the man, he suddenly wondered how they knew his name. He had not told anyone. The VIP lounge was quite beautiful, like an exclusive strip club. It was dark and there were exotic dancers everywhere, dressed in even more revealing outfits than the waitresses.

Thomas was guided to a table in the back. There was a man at the table dressed in a sharp grey suit. He had slight greying hair and a charismatic appearance. One of the dancers was just finishing a lap dance. Thomas noticed the same collar on her as on the wait staff.

"Welcome, Mister Ward." The man said as the dancer walked away. "Please, have a seat. My name is Carson Mayer, the manager of the Three Wishes casino."

"Hello." Thomas said as he sat down.

"Can I offer you a drink?" Carson said as she snapped his fingers.

A waiter came walking up to the table. He was a young man with short brown hair. Thomas noticed the same collar on him as on the women, and he seemed angry. Now that he thought about it, the waitresses who had served him before all smiled, but they were not happy either. Carson ordered a drink the waiter left. Thomas watched as he walked to the bar, where an identical-looking guy poured the drinks.

"It seems we have a problem, Mister Ward." Caron said. "You built up quite a dept."

"I can win it back. I just need a little more time." Thomas replied.

"Wouldn't that only increase your debt?" Carson asked.

"I know, I got carried away. I can't pay right now." Thomas said desperately. "Please give me another chance."

"It is not very smart to gamble with money you don't have." Carson said. "So what are you willing to do to fix it?"

"Anything, please. I just need one more shot." Thomas said.

The waiter returned and placed the drinks on the table. Thomas quickly grabbed his and took a big gulp. He needed some liquid courage to get through this. Caron picked up his own drink and smiled as he took a sip. He looked at the waiter, who bowed and quickly left. As Thomas looked at him, he noticed the waiter shaking his head in a warning manner.

"I have a proposition, Mister Ward." Carson said. "One more game, all or nothing. If you win, your debt is forgiven, if you lose, you lose everything."

"I already lost everything. I have nothing more to lose." Thomas replied. "What sort of game?"

"Black Jack, best of three." Carson said.

"I guess I don't really have a choice." Thomas said.

"Oh, you always have a choice." Carson replied somewhat sinister. "If we do this, it has to be your choice. You will need to sign this."

Carson reached into his jacket pocket and rolled out a piece of paper over the table. It was a contract. Thomas studied it, but most of it did not make sense. He hesitated, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

"Sign it and you get one more chance. You could be a very rich man, or have nothing at all." Carson said. "It is the deal of a lifetime."

"What else do I have to lose?" Thomas replied.

Seeing this as his last chance, Thomas grabbed a pen and signed on the dotted line. Carson smiled and rolled up the contract, giving it to one of his guards. He then stood up.

"Alright, Mister Ward." Carson said. "Let's play."

A little while later, Thomas and Carson were sitting at the black jack table. Thomas had won the first hand, Carson the second, which meant it all came down to the last draw. The dealer dealt the cards and Thomas got a three, while Carson got a queen.

"Hit me." Thomas said.

A card was added, a ten, which meant Thomas now had thirteen. Carson got another card and it was a king, meaning he had twenty. It also meant that Thomas had to get another card to win, but it a risk considering it easily could be a high card. It was all or nothing, after all.

"Hit me." Thomas said again.

The dealer nodded and drew a card. When he placed it on the table, Thomas' heart skipped a beat. It was a jack. He had lost, he had lost everything.

"No, no, no!" Thomas called out. "This cannot be happening."

"I hate to say it, Mister Ward, but it seems your luck ran out." Carson said. "You lost, which means your soul is mine."

"Soul?" Thomas asked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Carson smiled and suddenly a gold collar appeared around Thomas' neck and his wrists. He freaked out and tried to pull them off, but they were seamless and immovable. What the hell was going on? He tried to remove the collar again, but was shocked with a jolt of electricity, causing him to fall off the chair and roll over the floor.

"You really should read the fine print before signing anything, Mister Ward." Carson said casually as he stood up. "Take him to the dungeon. We'll decide what to do with him later."

The dealer nodded and moved from the table. Thomas saw him coming and tried to crawl away, but the dealer picked him up with incredible strength and carried him off. Thomas screamed for his life as he disappeared into the unknown dungeon, though nobody in the VIP area seemed to care or even notice.

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As the latest victim of the casino was carried away to the dungeon, Nathan Ross clenched his fist as he stood by the bar trying to ignore what was happening. Another fool who signed over their soul without knowing what they were getting into. He wanted to help, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He had seen it happen for the last three months. Instead, he gathered some empty glasses and put them on the bar. His brother Nick grabbed the glasses to clean them.

"Another idiot lost." Nick remarked dryly.

"I know. We need to do something." Nathan said.

"We already tried that, and guess what, we're stuck here dressed like freaking Aladdin." Nick said in an annoyed tone as he pointed at his outfit.

"Don't forget that this is your fault." Nathan remarked. "Come on, Nate, just one more hit and we're done. We were supposed to start over."

"Hey, you went along with it." Nick replied.

"I know." Nathan admitted with a sigh. "But I'm not spending my life as a busboy."

"At least we're just on the wait staff. Thank God we don't have to dance or do… worse things." Nick replied. "Then again, you might like that."

"Shut up." Nathan snapped at him. "The fact that I'm gay doesn't mean I am willing to… do every creepy guy that comes in here."

"I'm just kidding." Nick said.

"I'm glad you can still see the humor in this." Nathan remarked. "We never should have attempted to rob this place. Now we're stuck like the ones stupid enough to sign their souls over."

"So do you have a plan?" Nick asked.

"Well, I was thinking, these stupid slave collars are blocking our active powers, but our telepathic link is still working, right?" Nathan said.

"So? How is that helpful?" Nick asked.

"What if we can find a way to boost the signal?" Nathan asked. "To reach someone else and ask for help?"

"It is worth a shot." Nick replied with a shrug. "So let me guess who we're trying to reach…"

"Shut up and just work with me." Nathan replied.

"Dude, not here." Nick said under his breath as some guards walked past. "Tonight."

"Fine, let's get back to work before they become suspicious." Nathan replied.

Nathan picked up a tray and headed over to some tables to collect glasses. As he cleaned the table, he noticed an elderly woman being led into the VIP area by the guards. She was too old to be put to work here, so if Carson collected her soul, it would probably be auctioned off to the highest bidding demon. Perhaps working here was not the worst fate, but Nathan was not willing to accept it just yet. He had made a promise to Duncan to get his life in order. Now the Chosen were the only ones who could help them.

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When Billie Jenkins woke up, she yawned as she stretched her arms, only to find the bed empty. She opened her eyes and noticed Jake was gone, though she heard movement in the apartment. She sighed and got out of bed to get dressed. Their sleepovers had become a common thing over the last three months, now that they were finally officially dating. There was just one problem, it had become completely boring.

When Billie had met Jake, he was a dangerous witch hunter. There was a certain threat and excitement. Now that they had both admitted their feelings, things were normal. Too normal. Jake had his job at the police department, Billie had her classes. They had dinner, stayed in to watch a movie and went to bed. It felt like she had been pulled from a whirlwind romance into the life of an old married couple. The fact that there had barely been any demonic activity did not help either.

Billie left the bedroom and found Jake making breakfast in the kitchen, already dressed for work. She kissed him on the cheek as she grabbed coffee.

"Morning, want some eggs?" Jake asked.

"Sure." Billie replied. "So what are you doing today?"

"Mostly paperwork." Jake replied. "You?"

"Classes, as usual." Billie said.

"I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight." Jake said as he handed her a plate of eggs and sat down. "That Italian restaurant?"

"I actually have plans with Vi and Duncan tonight." Billie said.

"Oh, alright." Jake replied disappointed.

"I'm sorry, but I made these plans last week." Billie said. "We can go out tomorrow."

"Sure." Jake replied as he poked at his eggs.

"Right. I should get going. I got classes." Billie replied awkwardly.

Billie quickly took a few bites of her eggs and got up to grab her stuff. She then gave Jake a kiss and left the apartment. As soon as she was outside, she took a deep breath. She needed to figure out what was going on between them, before it was over.

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When Duncan returned to his dorm room after his morning run, he was annoyed by the mess his new roommate had left behind. Due to an increase in new students at the start of the semester, the school could no longer offer single rooms, so Duncan was forced to take on a roommate. Perhaps it was time to search for an apartment of his own.

Duncan sat down on his bed and grabbed his phone. No new messages. He had hoped to have heard from Nathan by now, since it had been three months since they last spoke. As he stared at a picture they had taken together, Duncan suddenly remembered he had a weird dream. Like someone was calling out to him. However, the moment he woke up, the words had faded away.

Disappointed, Duncan put his phone away and grabbed his stuff in order to go take a shower. As he headed to the door, he suddenly felt a headache come on and became dizzy.

"Duncan!" A voice telepathically echoed in his head. "Please help."

"Nathan?" Duncan asked surprised.

There was no response, at least not in words. When Duncan closed his eyes, he briefly saw some images flash before his eyes. They seemed random, but he soon realized they had one thing in common. Las Vegas. Nathan was there, and he needed help.

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