Total pages in book: 209
Estimated words: 196141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 981(@200wpm)___ 785(@250wpm)___ 654(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 981(@200wpm)___ 785(@250wpm)___ 654(@300wpm)
“Almost there,” says Elias gloomily.
Even during the daylight hours, the Scarlet Sands Hotel & Casino lurks like a moody shadow upon the otherwise sunny city full of life, noisy cars, and tourists. After parking, the four depart the vehicle, Jeremy grimacing with a thick hoodie tied around his waist in the front, Layna holding his hand with Cade walking close, and Elias begrudgingly leading the way.
And overhead, birds circle the skies, birds and birds and more birds. Elias notices. Cade notices. When Layna peers up, it’s perhaps now that her eyes finally reflect worry, and with no confidence at all, she shouts up at them, “Go away!”
The birds don’t listen, circling, circling.
The front of the Scarlet Sands Hotel & Casino is like the entrance of an exotic castle from a dark vampire fairytale, with dramatic stone statues framing the front doors underneath an enormous shaded awning. Inside, the ceilings are staggeringly high, and the lobby echoes with noises of distant slot machines and slinky, sinister music playing from some unseen club or gallery. Elias walks past the front desk where four leather-clad male and female clerks are busy checking guests in and out, their uniforms as tight and gaudy as the décor. They pass the large and impressive circular garden in the middle of the lobby where the way splits, one path leading to shops and stores, one to the restaurants and elevators, and the final one to the casino.
It’s toward the casino that Elias leads them. The moment they reach the archway leading in, a security officer steps forth to ask for ID, but as soon as the words fly out, he recognizes Elias. “Sorry, Mr. Elias, sir. Welcome back.” The four proceed into the casino, with a perplexed Cade glancing back at the officer no less than five times, then finally muttering, “Are you, like, a frequent gambler here or something? How do they know you?”
Elias doesn’t answer that.
As they head deeper into the casino, the atmosphere grows darker, louder, and more sinister, the game machines creating a dissonant and unsettling symphony of chimes and bells in their ears. Despite his distress, Jeremy’s eyes are wide with wonder as they pass through. Layna seems more guarded than before, her thrill of being here with her boyfriend considerably diminished. Cade murmurs, “I don’t like the look or feel of this place one bit.” Elias only responds: “Don’t worry. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Cigarette smoke and cheap mirrors.” “No, really,” she says back, “I don’t think we should be here. I don’t usually listen to my gut, but I’m picking up bad, bad vibes all around.” As they approach the back door of the casino guarded by two suited, unsmiling men, Cade’s pace slows. “Oh, hell no, Elias, we’re not messing with them. Where are we even going?”
Elias comes to a stop in front of them. “Joe. Rick.”
The men step aside without a word. Elias proceeds through the doors, a confused, wary-eyed Cade following behind, trailed by the teens. Now in a stark white stairwell—a vast departure from the atmosphere of the casino and hotel—the four head up a flight of stairs to a drab hallway, which leads to an elevator where Elias hits a button. The door slides open. Everyone steps in. Elias taps the top floor and a digital keypad above it lights up. He puts in a ten digit number. The interface dings, the doors slide shut.
“Seriously,” says Cade, “who the hell are you? I’m trusting you with my daughter and the police chief’s kid, I’ll remind you.”
“I’m just someone’s son.”
“Whose? Satan’s?”
“You’re not far off.”
When the doors open, they enter a nicely furnished foyer lined with potted cactuses in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Elias walks past all of them without paying a single one mind, comes up to a set of double doors, then lets himself in. The doors open to a similarly furnished office, the walls lined with shelves of books, sculptures, and various trophies and awards. The back of the office boasts floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the city, bright afternoon sunlight pouring in over a large desk.
And at that desk sits a woman with a soft, round face and black hair swept stylishly in a large wave to the side, buzzed short underneath, with diamond stud earrings. Her business suit, always violet or maroon, is adorned with her signature Scarlet Sands pin on the collar. She is typing away at a tablet, not even bothering to lift her head when she asks, “Whatever happened to knocking first?” in her cold and mild tone.
Elias stops. “Thought you hated when your son knocked.”
She looks up at once.
Then she rises, which doesn’t add much more height to all five-foot-nothing of her. “Elias?” She doesn’t seem to trust who she sees. Or what. For a moment, there is only fear in her eyes. Then they slowly warm as she appears to remember her son, as if the fear is suddenly secondary, nothing else mattering but the fact that her son is here to see her, Elias, who she might have recently believed she would never see again.