I’d leave something behind that shouldn’t belong in the past.
I pulled on my shirt and dabbed each eye for relief, but the tears continued to flow. This was a time to be grateful for my invisible status. I’m sure I looked like a linebacker with mascara running down my face. Once I finally got the tears under control, I searched the lobby for Holden, but he was gone. At least I had Simone’s suite number, but I had hoped to trail Holden closely so I didn’t have to spell my way into her room.
Diamond Towers wasn’t a casino like the other hotels I had visited on the strip. The Vegas construction rush was a bombardment of destination competition. Each developer had tried to create the next great oasis. It appeared the Diamond Towers had another approach altogether.
There was a long bar at the end of the lobby, just big enough for a few guests to enjoy a cocktail. A lone man sang as he plinked out songs on a baby grand piano. On the other side of the bar, doors to a large ballroom were cracked just wide enough to allow me to see couples dancing. As they swayed side to side with the music, a bride and groom smiled from the center of the circle.
I walked toward the ballroom, drawn to the enchantment of the young newlyweds. Just as I reached the cracked door, I heard the ding of the elevator. I looked left and saw a sign that read Private . The elevator light glowed at number seven, and I knew Holden had reached his destination. Forgetting the happy couple swooning on the dance floor, I turned toward the elevator.
The elevator lobby was secluded. I decided to use a spell to override the elevator restriction that required a key for this particular tower. I guessed that the private residences were stacked in this tower and that the Diamond on the other side was for the hotel guests. Tonight’s newlyweds would probably be staying in the other tower in a Vegas-style honeymoon suite.
I pushed the button for the seventh floor, and the elevator glided up the tower. Unlike the Chadsworths’ floor, there were no guards walking the corridors and the hall seemed empty. I scanned the room numbers for 710 and quietly let myself in the front door.
A low light glowed in the foyer, and I noticed mirrored wallpaper behind the bubble-shaped lamp. The Diamond Towers took its theme all the way to the walls. There were two doorways on either side of the foyer table, each equally as dim. I stepped left and scanned the kitchen, eat-in breakfast area, and large dining room for Holden. The rooms overlooked the lively city below. I retraced my steps through the foyer and went through the doorway on the right.
Sometimes this was my favorite part of my Time Spell trips. I wanted to absorb all the trappings of 1968, but I had a mission to complete. There was a lavishly decorated living room, with a slender television cabinet, turntable, speakers, and fully stocked bar. I could see behind the couch a pass through to the kitchen with barstools. A giant clock hanging above the bar window told that it was eight o’clock. I heard muffled sounds coming from behind the door across the living room. I took a chance that Simone and Holden would be too wrapped up in their conversation to notice the door move as I cracked it.
An enormous golden bed dominated the center of the room. Dark purple curtains cascaded from the ceiling and wrapped like coils around the bed’s four pillars. The fabric pooled on the floor in a heap of purple velvet. I don’t think I had seen anything like this except maybe in a movie. White fur rugs splayed across the floor, covering marble tile in some sort of intricate inlay design. I performed a sweep of the room, but didn’t see Holden or Simone.
I stopped mid-search and tilted my head toward a crackling sound. My ears strained to identify what the noise was. It sounded like glass cracking. There was a loud thud and a woman screaming. I ran past the purple bed, to the door of the suite’s spa.
Holden’s arms were
I pulled on my shirt and dabbed each eye for relief, but the tears continued to flow. This was a time to be grateful for my invisible status. I’m sure I looked like a linebacker with mascara running down my face. Once I finally got the tears under control, I searched the lobby for Holden, but he was gone. At least I had Simone’s suite number, but I had hoped to trail Holden closely so I didn’t have to spell my way into her room.
Diamond Towers wasn’t a casino like the other hotels I had visited on the strip. The Vegas construction rush was a bombardment of destination competition. Each developer had tried to create the next great oasis. It appeared the Diamond Towers had another approach altogether.
There was a long bar at the end of the lobby, just big enough for a few guests to enjoy a cocktail. A lone man sang as he plinked out songs on a baby grand piano. On the other side of the bar, doors to a large ballroom were cracked just wide enough to allow me to see couples dancing. As they swayed side to side with the music, a bride and groom smiled from the center of the circle.
I walked toward the ballroom, drawn to the enchantment of the young newlyweds. Just as I reached the cracked door, I heard the ding of the elevator. I looked left and saw a sign that read Private . The elevator light glowed at number seven, and I knew Holden had reached his destination. Forgetting the happy couple swooning on the dance floor, I turned toward the elevator.
The elevator lobby was secluded. I decided to use a spell to override the elevator restriction that required a key for this particular tower. I guessed that the private residences were stacked in this tower and that the Diamond on the other side was for the hotel guests. Tonight’s newlyweds would probably be staying in the other tower in a Vegas-style honeymoon suite.
I pushed the button for the seventh floor, and the elevator glided up the tower. Unlike the Chadsworths’ floor, there were no guards walking the corridors and the hall seemed empty. I scanned the room numbers for 710 and quietly let myself in the front door.
A low light glowed in the foyer, and I noticed mirrored wallpaper behind the bubble-shaped lamp. The Diamond Towers took its theme all the way to the walls. There were two doorways on either side of the foyer table, each equally as dim. I stepped left and scanned the kitchen, eat-in breakfast area, and large dining room for Holden. The rooms overlooked the lively city below. I retraced my steps through the foyer and went through the doorway on the right.
Sometimes this was my favorite part of my Time Spell trips. I wanted to absorb all the trappings of 1968, but I had a mission to complete. There was a lavishly decorated living room, with a slender television cabinet, turntable, speakers, and fully stocked bar. I could see behind the couch a pass through to the kitchen with barstools. A giant clock hanging above the bar window told that it was eight o’clock. I heard muffled sounds coming from behind the door across the living room. I took a chance that Simone and Holden would be too wrapped up in their conversation to notice the door move as I cracked it.
An enormous golden bed dominated the center of the room. Dark purple curtains cascaded from the ceiling and wrapped like coils around the bed’s four pillars. The fabric pooled on the floor in a heap of purple velvet. I don’t think I had seen anything like this except maybe in a movie. White fur rugs splayed across the floor, covering marble tile in some sort of intricate inlay design. I performed a sweep of the room, but didn’t see Holden or Simone.
I stopped mid-search and tilted my head toward a crackling sound. My ears strained to identify what the noise was. It sounded like glass cracking. There was a loud thud and a woman screaming. I ran past the purple bed, to the door of the suite’s spa.
Holden’s arms were
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