Chosen Chapter 9: Viva Las Witches

Part 3

Xxx

After meeting with some demonic high rollers, Carson Mayer, the manager of the Three Wishes casino, returned to his longue area and sat down at his favorite table. As soon as he sat down, a beautiful waitress came over and put down his favorite drink. Carson took a sip and watched one of the exotic dancers on stage working the pole. This casino was a dream come true, a paradise that was completely under his control. The door opened and one of his large and burly henchmen, who served both as dealers and security guards, came walking up to him holding a laptop.

"Sir, we may have a situation." The henchman said.

"What is it?" Carson asked annoyed.

"You better see for yourself." The henchman replied.

The henchman put down the laptop and a video started playing. It was shot by one of the security cameras hidden all over the casino. It showed an empty hallway, until a young man with brown hair suddenly appeared out of thin air. Carson, who had just taken another sip of his drink, spat it out and coughed. His waitress quickly brought him a napkin.

"What the hell am I looking at?" Carson asked annoyed as he dapped his suit.

"Keep watching, sir." The henchman said.

Carson turned his attention back to the screen and saw a beautiful woman with long dark hair appear in a cloud of smoke. He recognized her all too well. That damned Genie.

"Sahara!" Carson called out furiously.

A cloud of red smoke rose up from the ceiling and Sahara appeared with a bow. As he was her master, she was bound to him and claimed to be loyal, but Carson doubted that. She would surely betray him if given the chance.

"Care to tell me what this is?" Carson asked as he turned the laptop to her.

"It is a portable computer, my master." Sahara said.

Carson did not know whether she was messing with him or if she was truly this ignorant. He did not care either way. He snapped his finger and his henchman grabbed the Genie and twisted her arm, forcing her to her knees as she cried out in pain.

"Remember you cannot hurt me, Genie." Carson warned her. "Now tell me who the boy is."

"I do not know who he is, honestly." Sahara replied. "But I know what he is. He is a witch, my master. He astral projected here."

"What is he after?" Carson asked.

"He was looking for someone, master." Sahara said. "A loved one perhaps, one of the many to have lost their souls in your casino."

"I need a name." Carson demanded and nodded, causing the henchman to twist the Genie's arm even further.

"I… Please…" Sahara begged through her cries. "The twins… The warlocks…"

"Dammit!" Carson called out as he threw his glass, shattering it on the floor as he got up. "I knew those little rats would be trouble. We should have killed them the moment they attempted to rob me."

"Please, sir!" Sahara cried out.

"Let her go." Carson said with a hand wave.

The henchman let go and the Genie fell on the floor, cradling her painful arm as she cried softly. For an all-powerful, wish-granting creature, she was nothing but a weak woman. Carson could not believe she was once feared for her power. All she needed was the right method of control. Sahara wiped her tears and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, presumably retreating to her bottle.

"Do you want me to get rid of the witches?" The henchman asked.

"Not yet." Carson said as he thought about his options. "I want to know exactly what we're dealing with. Get me one of them and meet me in the dungeon. We'll get some answers."

A little while later, Carson stepped into the secret dungeon underneath the casino where the newly acquired souls were kept. Most were auctioned off to various demons and evil beings, while the pretty ones were put to work in the casino. Carson enjoyed having beautiful things around for his personal entertainment, plus they helped lure in new victims.

The dungeon was dark and wide, with cold concrete and few lights. There were no windows and no way to escape. The ones who lost his games were kept in cages until the time was right to sell them. He did not care about these people, all he cared about was making a fortune and living in his own little paradise. As he walked past the cages, something grabbed his leg. Carson turned around and saw it was Thomas Ward, the investor whose soul he had won yesterday.

"Please." Thomas begged. "Let me out. Give me another chance!"

One of Carson's henchman poked Thomas with a cattle prod, zapping him with a jolt of electricity. He cried in pain and retreated into his cage. Unimpressed, Carson kept walking. When he entered another room in the dungeon, also known as the torture room, he saw his henchmen had secured one of the twins in a metal chair. As troublesome as the twins were, they were a fine addition to his collection.

"Remind me again, which one are you?" Carson asked.

"Nathan." The warlock said angrily as he struggled against his restraints.

"I am wondering something, Nathan." Carson said. "Why would a witch be poking around my casino?"

The warlock's eyes widened for a moment, though he quickly tried to hide it. "I don't know." He lied unconvincingly.

"See, I know you're lying to me." Carson said. "Now either you can just tell me, or my associate over here will be forced to torture you until I get the answer I want."

"I'm not telling you anything!" Nathan said.

"Were you somehow able to call for help?" Carson asked.

When the warlock refused to answer, Carson nodded at his henchman, who zapped him with a cattle prod. Nathan screamed out in pain until the henchman stopped. He breathed heavily as he looked at Carson with a hateful look.

"What does he know? What kind of powers does he have? Is he alone?" Carson asked.

Nathan still refused to answer. The henchman zapped him again and he screamed out again. However, he kept refusing to answer. The interrogation continued, but after a while, Carson got bored. He hated coming to the dungeon and wasting his time. Torture was messy, something that was better kept behind the scenes. Perhaps he needed to hire someone to handle this kind of dirty work. He ordered his henchman to keep going until he got an answer and left.

Xxx

In an alley just behind the Las Vegas strip, four columns of smoke rose up from the ground as the Chosen and Jake appeared through the teleportation potions. Billie looked around to make sure nobody had seen them and turned to her friends. She still could not believe Duncan had been so reckless to astral project here on his own, but at least they now knew where the casino was. The fact that a Genie was involved made things more complicated. Genies were powerful and unpredictable, not to be trusted. They needed to be careful.

The four of them left the alley and headed down the street. They soon spotted the casino and stopped across the street, hiding behind a few palm trees. Billie spotted women at the door dressed in very tacky costumes. Naturally, they lured in a lot of male gamblers.

"Alright, we made it." Billie said.

"So now what?" Violet asked.

"We head for the casino." Duncan said.

"And what? Just storm in?" Jake asked with a frown. "You need a plan. We need to know what we're dealing with."

"We already know a Genie is involved." Violet reasoned. "She is the one who pushed me out of my premonition and the one who warned Duncan."

"But Genies don't operate alone. Someone is always controlling them." Billie replied. "Every Genie has a master."

"We need to find out who that is." Jake added.

"So what do you suggest?" Duncan asked.

"Split up, find out what is going on at this casino." Jake said. "We'll draw less suspicion and cover more ground."

"Okay." Duncan said. "But we shouldn't go alone, we should split up in pairs."

"Agreed, and we don't act until we're absolutely sure what we're dealing with." Jake said as he looked at Billie. "Meaning no rash actions."

"Why are you looking at me when you're saying that?" Billie asked suspiciously.

"No reason." Jake replied.

"Right, so I think you and Duncan should go in first." Billie said. "We'll follow."

"Oh…" Jake said a little disappointed. "Are you sure about that?"

"I think so. I mean, look at those women at the door." Billie said quickly. "Obviously, they would much sooner talk to two single guys than a couple. They might know something."

"Right." Jake replied skeptically.

"Look, I don't care." Duncan said. "I just want to go in and find out what is going on."

"Alright, let's just do it." Jake agreed.

"One more thing." Billie said.

Billie moves closer to Jake and took off his jacket. She then pulled his shirt out of his pants and unbuttoned the top buttons. Finally, she slightly messed up his neatly combed hair to make it seem more casual. Jake looked at her with a frown as she handed him back his jacket.

"You looked too much like a cop." Billie explained with a shrug. "Keep in touch, and remember to use the teleportation potions in case of emergency. We'll rendezvous outside in an hour."

Jake nodded and he and Duncan crossed the street. Billie felt a bit guilty about the arrangement she made. Although her reasoning about splitting up made sense, it was not the real reason she came up with it. Actually, she was just afraid that if they were alone together, it would lead to another awkward talk she did not want to have. By sending Jake off with Duncan, she could just focus on the mission at hand instead of her crumbling relationship.

"Looks like you were right." Violet remarked.

Billie looked across the street and saw that the scantily clad women were all over Jake and Duncan, flirting and touching them while trying to lure them inside. Billie noticed Jake was perhaps playing the role a little too well and felt a bit jealous. What was that all about? When Jake and Duncan headed into the casino, Billie nudged Violet and they followed them.

Xxx

When Duncan entered the casino with a free chip in his hand, he instantly placed it in his pocket. He was not here to gamble or have fun, he was here to find Nathan. He looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone seemed to be happily gambling their money away and drinking a lot. A waitress came walking up to Duncan and Jake and offered them both a bright blue drink. Not wanting to draw attention, they both accepted it and headed further in the casino. When Duncan looked over his shoulder, he saw Billie and Violet enter and head another direction.

"Where should we start?" Duncan asked.

"Perhaps we should ask around." Jake said.

When a waitress walked past them, Duncan gently grabbed her arm. She stopped and turned to them. Duncan noticed she had a golden collar around her neck and arms.

"Sorry, we're actually looking for some friends of ours." Duncan said as he grabbed his phone. "We were supposed to meet them here."

"What do they look like?" the waitress asked.

"Well, they're twins. About my height, athletic, with light brown hair." Duncan explained.

"Sorry. I can't help you." The waitress said nervously and quickly walked away.

"Did you see the look on her face?" Jake asked.

"She seemed pretty nervous." Duncan replied.

"She wasn't nervous, she was scared." Jake corrected him. "Whatever is going on here, the staff clearly knows it. Take a look around, see anything interesting?"

Duncan turned and looked around the hall. Aside from the gamblers, he noticed that all dealers wore the same dark blue robes, while the waiters and waitresses were dressed in revealing, colorful harem clothes. He also noticed they all had the same golden collars, just like the Genie.

"Oh my god." Duncan said. "They are not employees. They're slaves. What the hell is going on?"

"Something very bad." Jake said. "I did some research before we came here. Up until about a year ago, nobody had ever even heard of the Three Wishes casino. It literally came out of nowhere."

"What are you saying?" Duncan asked.

"Well, we know there is a Genie here." Jake reasoned. "A casino appearing out of nowhere, the staff being enslaved, people gambling like there is no tomorrow. It all seems a little…"

"Wrong." Duncan concluded. "So you think that the Genie created this place and is keeping people trapped here? Who would wish that?"

"A gambling addict? Someone looking to become rich?" Jake suggested.

"Or something not mortal at all." Duncan added.

Duncan felt a little overwhelmed. Clearly, this thing was much bigger than he ever anticipated. Whatever the twins had gotten themselves into, it was bad. Feeling a bit thirsty, Duncan brought the glass with the blue drink to his lips, though Jake grabbed his arm before he could take a sip.

"What the hell?" Duncan asked annoyed.

"Pay attention." Jake said. "Look around again, not only is every waitress wearing a collar, they are all handing out the exact same drink. What if the drink is making them gamble?"

"You think it is some kind of potion?" Duncan asked.

"You're the witch. Can't you find out?" Jake replied.

"I might." Duncan said. "Follow me."

Duncan took his drink and headed to the back of the hall to find a bathroom. He knew a spell that would allow him to find the exact purpose of this drink. However, before he could reach the bathroom, he suddenly spotted a familiar face through the crowd.

Duncan quickly ran over to the bar and grabbed Nathan by the arm. However, when he turned around, Duncan quickly realized it was not Nathan, but Nick. He could tell by the subtle differences in their faces. Nick seemed surprised to see him and quickly looked around for trouble. When the coast was clear, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Well, thank god you can keep us apart." Nick remarked. "For a moment there, I was afraid you were going to kiss me."

Xxx

Across the casino, Violet and Billie walked through a crowd of people in a hall filled with slot machines. Violet had never been in a casino before, so she had no idea what she was looking for. When someone bumped into her, she stopped for a moment, and when she looked up, she had lost sight of Billie. A waiter with a charming smile appeared next to her.

"Drink?" He asked.

"Sure." Violet replied.

Violet grabbed the pretty blue drink and took a sip. It tasted like heaven. She looked around for Billie again, but still could not find her. The flashing lights for the slot machines were too distracting. She then stared at the free chip in her hand and smiled. She headed to a slot machine, put in the chip and pulled the lever.

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