If someone asked her, Karina wouldn't be able to explain whether what moved her forward was intuition or logic. And yet, there she was, crossing the hotel halls. And she walked so fast that anyone who saw her thought: "She must be late for something important." Their thoughts were in the right direction, but they reached the wrong conclusion. Yes, Karina needed to do something important, and she was late for it. But that was not the reason why she ran. She ran because she couldn't contain her thoughts. Karina wanted to solve it as fast as she could. Before May came back, because she was sure May would come back soon.

  "After what happened last night... I was slacking off so much. If things go wrong, I will never forgive myself." Karina spoke to herself.

  The girl didn't have the time to think about the clothes she wore. She wanted something practical and discreet. And when she considered the time she had left, what people would think of her attire was the least of her concerns.

  "It was right in front of me. Why didn't I press for more? I'm sure if it were May in my place, she would've got it right. She wouldn't let anyone get in her way. I'm so stupid!"

  The gaming room was empty, as it was too early, and most people were still sleeping. The machines and tables, all lined up, as nobody played on them. It gave the place an eerie feeling. But Karina didn't mind; in fact, being empty would play to her favor. Nobody would see what she had planned.

  Karina scanned the whole room, looking for a specific door. And there it was, in the back of the room, like the other day. When she tried to open it, she saw that it was locked.

  "They locked it after I got inside the first time. Or maybe it was open by chance. But that's fine, even I know a trick or two."

  Karina touched the locker and let her magical power flow into it. She murmured a word or two, and then, with a click, the door opened smoothly.

  "If I were being that careless with magic, one thing or two... It won't make any difference. I think they're already watching what I'm doing. I need to be fast. At least, faster than them." Karina said as she pulled her hair back in a ponytail. "Now let's see what I might have missed."

  In case anyone appeared there, she placed magical traps and spells to muffle the sound inside the room.

  "I should've done that in the bedroom too..."

  Much of the place looked the same as the other day. It was crowded with things about the Preacher: posters, banners, and all that kind of stuff. Karina looked through all of it, although it didn't catch her attention.

  In the back of the room, the girl saw something strange that she hadn't seen the first time. A single television, and it was on. And the creepiest thing was that it kept changing the channels. Karina tried to stop it as she used the remote control, but nothing happened. Now that she observed closely, it didn't have sound either.

  "This is weird. Why the hell is this TV here?"

  Karina tried to use her magical power; she tried to identify any trace of magic in the place. But everything was well hidden.

  "I guess I'm not that strong. I wish I could, I don't know, see things better. That would help."

  Karina listened to a strange noise behind her. Like someone moved and dropped something. But when she turned around, everything was in its right place.

  "If anyone got into the room, I would have felt it through the traps. No, this must be something of my mind. I'm so tired of everything."

  Karina saw a table behind the TV. When she got closer, she noticed that it was more like a desk, as it had drawers. Opening one of them, Karina found some papers. Most of them were of frugal things, but one specific paper caught her attention. It was some kind of spell written down. She didn't know what kind of effect the spell had, but she was sure it had one. Karina remembered that May had once explained that written spells could have different effects.

  "You know, K, they can be useful in the right situation. You can use them when you won't be able to at the place yourself. And you're sure that the magic you want to perform is repetitive and simple. Then a written spell will do the trick."

  The memory came back to her, and Karina thought that the spell had something to do with the things in the room. And as she was about to destroy the piece of paper, a voice came out of the TV. Karina felt her heart accelerate.

  "Now that you're here. Welcome! I bet you enjoyed the games. And you think that it was so unfair that you got caught. That you probably deserve another chance. Am I right?" The male voice asked. After a minute in silence, the voice added. "I mean, I still can't read minds. Why don't you answer? And please, come in front of the TV so I can see you."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Karina pondered for a little while, what she should do. The girl didn't feel like trusting the voice, but she wanted to know who was on the screen. So, with that in mind, she found herself in front of the TV. The scene itself didn't surprise her; what actually left her with her mouth open was the person who spoke: the Preacher.

  "Hum, a young woman? That's rare around here. So, have you been enjoying the Casino so far?"

  "It's nice, I guess..."

  "And your favorite game? Do you have one?"

  "Well... I liked the roulette. It's simple to understand."

  "Oh, the roulette. It's such an interesting game. It's easy to lose, but when you win... It's quite a feeling, right? I myself sometimes feel tempted by the roulette. To place the bets on one number..." The man spoke lazily. There was something different in his appearance compared to the way Karina saw him on TV.

  "Yeah, right. It's nice." Karina was scared of saying too much; she knew the man was dangerous.

  And just like that, mist swirled at the girl's feet. It was thin and shiny, and it covered the whole floor. The image on the TV seemed even more twisted and macabre. The man looked at her, but he seemed bored by the action.

  Karina felt magic and magical power as it engulfed her. She couldn't pinpoint what it tried to do, but she was sure it was trying to affect her.

  "Oh, you don't seem to be, I mean, you seem different. Who are you, girl?"

  "I'm me."

  "Did you engage in the game? Did you really play roulette? I don't think so. What are you doing in this room? Who brought you here?"

  Karina didn't answer the question; instead, she tried to get back to the door. And it was locked from the outside.

  "What the hell is happening here?"

  "You won't get out any time soon. Not until I get to the room, to have a good look at your face."

  Karina tried to explode the TV with magic, but a barrier around the object protected it.

  "What should I do?" She thought to herself.

  "Once you get here, there's no escaping. No matter what you try. And now that I know that you're able to do magic, I have a lot of questions... Oh, you're deep in trouble, you won't escape, and I will soon have my hands around your neck."

  Even though Karina tried to ignore the man the best she could, it was a hard task. The girl needed to concentrate if she wanted to find a way out of the room. The mission at this point was jeopardized. May and her would need to take action, especially now that she was sure that there was something wrong with the place. Not that she didn't know it before, it was that she wasn't sure of how bad it was.

  "There's no way out of here! Look at me!"

  And a force pulled Karina in the direction of the TV. The Preacher's face was distorted by anger. His eyes were bloodshot. It seemed like they looked right through Karina.

  "I'm not that weak!" Karina made her magical power flow outside of her; it severed the connection of the Preacher's spell. "And I sure as hell will get out of here."

  The girl closed her eyes and concentrated all her power in her fists. She punched the door and felt that the spell that blocked it got weaker. And so, she got out of the room. The Preacher screamed, but she couldn't distinguish what he said anymore.

  "I need to run and get back to the room. I don't think May, and I have the time anymore."

  Karina ran through the halls as they started to fill up with people. The hunter couldn't shake the feeling that the guards were already after her.

  "Faster, Karina, faster." She talked to herself. "And I must get in contact with May again. It's an emergency."

  As she reached the room, she thought about how she would connect with her friend again. It would be hard, but she needed to try it. There must be a spell or something like that to help.

  But as soon as Karina started the spell, she felt something. It came from somewhere distant, and it was barely there. But she grasped it and used her magical power to enhance the connection.

  "K, can you hear me? Is this working?" Karina recognized May's voice inside her head.

  "I can hear you, May! Why and how are you connecting again?"

  "I needed to tell you that I'm coming back. Because I'll need you to help me. I did some things, but you will need to do the magical circles on the floor. I guess in our room it will be okay. But it can be on the terrace at night too, I guess the moonlight could help it."

  "Oh, May! You don't know how much I needed to hear your voice again. In fact, I was about to try connecting with you again."

  "You sound anxious, K. Tell me what happened?"

  "I'm not sure if I have the time to, May. But I'll tell you something important. The whole mission, we gotta change everything. They got me. I tried to investigate further, but they got me. And I guess the Preacher is connected to everything, because I saw him again."

  "That's interesting. So I guess it's good that I'm going back now. Although I had to pay a price. Ugh, this maze... It was terrible, K, terrible. I swear there was a moment I thought I would be trapped here forever."

  "Wow, it sounds intense. I'm glad you were able to overcome it."

  "Yeah, thankfully. And as soon as possible, I will be able to help you. Oh, K, I feel so guilty letting you deal with everything alone. I promise I'll make it up to you."

  "Oh, that's fine, I knew I had to do these things. It helped me grow a little, too, you know. But please, tell me what I should do to bring you here; we need to go fast."

  "Alright. I did some kind of magic that I don't have the time to explain to you, but you will have to trust me. I did something to help break the space separating the maze and the Casino. You need to write it on the ground, let me guide you."

  May explained to Karina what she had to do, as the girl drew on the bedroom floor. And soon, the whole place was taken by light, as someone knocked on the door.