May found Karina looking for her in the back of the room. Her friend had a funny posture, with her hands on her hips.

  “That was a lot for one day. There is so much here for us to do.”

  “At least we have the time to do it. If we want to win…” May spun a coin in her fingers. “We’ll need to know the games well.”

  “You’re right. How about we head back to our room for now? I’m a little tired.”

  “And we can talk better there, about everything that we saw and did.”

  In their room, the girls changed their fancy attire into cozy pajamas. Karina sat in front of May in the bed.

  “There is something about the slot machines. I don’t know what, but I felt something magical there.”

  “I had the same impression with the roulette. We might be a little too weak yet to identify the kind of magic simply by feeling it.”

  Karina moved to the bed, and now she laid her head in May’s lap. She looked her friend in the eyes.

  “But tell me, did you win anything?”

  “Yes, actually, I was pretty lucky tonight. Never thought it was so easy to win at roulette.”

  “This is strange. I mean, I was winning at the slot machine, too. Do you think the magic is making us win?”

  “That doesn’t make sense, or the Casino would already be going bankrupt. But maybe it’s giving us the illusion of winning. I don’t know for sure.”

  “I guess we need to investigate further. But as you said, we have plenty of time.”

  May felt uneasy about everything. They sure had the time, but it felt like they were completely in the dark about all the stuff they were dealing with.

  “I also talked to an older lady. She’s quite a gambler, I must say. She was entertained by playing the slot machines. But I guess they’re the only thing she plays.”

  “Hum. I talked to a gambler, too. He was gentle with me and helped me with the roulette.”

  “Oh, was he cute?”

  “Shut up!” May laughed and threw a pillow at Karina, as her friend jumped from the bed.

  “But seriously, the people here are really into everything about the Casino. It’s kinda insane.”

  “Yeah, I get it. When I was playing roulette, everybody kept cheering anytime someone won. But it was also very contagious.”

  “I guess when you start playing, you can really get into the spirit of the thing.”

  “Sure, but we gotta keep focused. It’s dangerous to get lost in the games. We can’t forget that we’re in the middle of a mission.”

  The girls discussed the games they played and how they won. They talked about using magic to cheat.

  “Maybe it would work, May. To me, it seemed easy to manipulate. But if there are creatures and other witches and wizards here, they would detect us in the moment we use something.”

  “It’s risky. I would rather play like everybody else is doing. Anyways, we should come up with a plan, in case we need to cheat using magic.”

  “You’re right, but let’s think of something like that tomorrow. I’m tired.”

  “Yeah, me too. Good night, K.”

  ***

  It was late at night when Karina woke up to a noise. It came from the corridors, and it sounded like someone was being dragged.

  “May, May. Wake up. Did you hear that?”

  May mumbled something that resembled a no.

  “I think we should investigate it,” Karina said as May opened her eyes. “Yes, it’s worth investigating.”

  “Alright, K. If you think so, let’s see what it is about.”

  Karina put a coat over the pajamas. She opened the door with a click and looked at the hall. It was pitch black, engulfed in the darkness. Shouldn’t the lights be on? She felt May as her friend passed by her side, and even though she couldn’t distinguish her friend’s features in the darkness of the hall, she was sure May was as perplexed as her.

  “This is strange. Can you see anything, K?”

  “If I really focus, I can see a little. But…” Karina whispered; she wasn’t sure of what was happening.

  “Do you think this darkness was made by magic?”

  “I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem natural. Let’s investigate it further.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  The girls walked through the halls, and it was all emptier than usual. They looked through their floor and decided to investigate other floors too.

  They were all completely dark and empty.

  “You know the weirdest thing is that I also don’t hear a single noise, not even our footsteps.”

  “Now that you mention it, it’s weird.”

  May sensed something behind, and she could almost distinguish someone moving in the darkness. She pulled Karina, and they both ran in the direction of the person. Yet, at the turn of the hall, it was empty like the ones before.

  The girls arrived on the top floor and found the door to the terrace locked.

  “Do you remember if it was locked when we first arrived here?”

  “No, it wasn’t. We didn’t go up there, but I remember people coming and going from that door.”

  “Should we use magic to try and open it?”

  “I don’t think so. We might end up completely exposed. And I don’t believe we’re in a safe position yet.”

  The girls made their way back. They decided to head back to their room, as it was hard to investigate in the dark.

  “But I’m sure I saw someone. Maybe they watched us. Maybe they wanted to see if we would do any kind of magic.”

  “Right, we need to be extra careful about magic here. Of course, there will come a time when we will need to use magic, so we'd better be prepared. But while we’re infiltrating, we should be cautious.”

  As they lay in their beds, the girls thought about the situation and everything that had happened.

  “Do you think there’s someone watching us? I mean, how could they know that we can use magic?”

  “Maybe they’re suspicious, but not sure yet. Let’s lie low for a while.”

  After a moment in silence, May heard Karina turning in her bed.

  “May, are you still awake?”

  “I am, K. What do you want?”

  “What are we going to do tomorrow? I thought about going to a concert or a play at the hall we saw.”

  “Hum, it’s a good idea. Maybe there are things wrong there, too.”

  “I thought so. Let’s investigate there tomorrow.” Karina was about to say one more thing or two, but she heard the change in her friend’s breath, and she knew May was asleep.

  ***

  When the rays of the sun crossed the curtains, Karina and May woke up. Curious about the events that took place the previous night, they opened the door to the hall. It was the same as it was in the morning and afternoon. People came and went from their rooms. The usual morning chit-chat. No one else seemed affected or anything. So the girls decided to act as usual, not to attract any suspicions.

  “Like I said yesterday, today is a good day to check the concert hall. Did you see how big it is?”

  “Yeah, I didn’t imagine by looking from outside, that the Casino had such big spaces inside of it.”

  “Me neither.”

  The girls carried the day as they would normally. They had lunch at the hotel’s bar and restaurant, and, as usual, explored a little. They went up to the terrace; this time, they found the door open.

  Outside, they distinguished Neo Victoria City’s skyline. All the buildings and everything. If Karina squinted her eyes enough, she could see a little blue of the ocean, far away. The place was crowded with people in light and summery attire, pastel tones all around. The terrace itself was decorated with lots of different plants. Karina pulled her hair back.

  “I should’ve brought my sunglasses, it’s really sunny here.”

  “It’s fine, I like a little sun after being inside the hotel for so long.”

  They saw a couple with two kids; the woman seemed stressed. They heard as she said:

  “Darling, please don’t let them get too close to the edge.”

  The man adjusted the bucket hat that one of the kids wore.

  “You know one thing, K, I guess it’s the first time I saw a family here.”

  “Right? I wouldn’t bring kids here if they were my children.”

  “Maybe they didn’t find anyone to look after them. Or maybe they’re travelling here in the country and not actually playing in the Casino.”

  “I don’t think so. I mean, would anyone come here if not for the casino games?”

  May pondered her friend’s words. Karina was kind of right, in a certain way. And that made May think about it. Why would you bring children to a casino?

  ***

  “Did you see what the concert hall’s program is for today?” May asked her friend, sure of the answer even before Karina spoke.

  “You know I like surprises. That’s the fun of it.”

  “I hope it’s not something boring.”

  Karina wore a purple dress that complemented her body well. And the way she styled her hair back and the jewels she wore, she was like a woman from high society. May decided on wearing a beige suit and glasses. Karina thought that her friend looked serious, but also cool in a certain way.

  And as Karina had said, the concert hall was very large on the inside. It could fit about thousands of people. That night in particular wasn’t crowded, at least not at the moment they arrived.

  Soon, the girls discovered that the event of the night was a musical concert. It was a band they had never heard of. But as soon as the musicians played, May noticed that they were talented. The music was good, and the people in the crowd seemed to enjoy it. It reminded Karina of some of the alternative rock bands from decades earlier. The kind of music she knew May liked.

  The vocalist was a middle-aged woman, her hair was red and short, and her eyes were electric blue. When she looked right through the crowd, May swore her eyes locked with the singer.

  “What are we looking for, May?”

  “If there’s any trace of magic here. It could be someone in the band or in the crowd.”

  “Yeah, but how are we going to detect it?”

  “There’s a trick I know, in this case. It’s something called ‘echo’. When you’re using magic, it’s like you’re creating waves. These waves, they resound and make echoes. Focus on your magical power inside of you and try to feel anything different.”

  Karina did as her friend said, and at first, she didn’t feel anything. But then, there it was, so hidden, almost buried, and discreet. There was magic that flowed all through the place, even though the girl felt that it wasn’t actively doing anything there at all.

  “Do you feel it too, May?”

  “I do. I don’t know how to interpret it. But I’m sure of something. It’s not here, in fact, not in the concert hall. It’s more likely underlying the place. Maybe there’s magic all over the Casino and hotel, I don’t know for sure.”

  “That’s a good description. It’s how I feel, too. But May, there is something strange. Since yesterday, at night and even before, while we played games. We felt magic all over stuff, but if someone is doing something like that here, all the time, wouldn’t it consume a lot of magical power?”

  “That’s for sure. And this is the thing that scares me the most. If we’re dealing with monsters, creatures, or even other witches and wizards, it’s powerful. And it’s not working alone.”

  “You wanna know something? Sometimes I hate that you’re right most of the time.” Karina said, and she felt an eerie feeling that crossed through her body.