A Stroke Of Originality

“You sure you want to play the devil’s game?” Natas wondered.

Tori looked around the table at the men agreed to play and lost. They seemed to just be out of it as if they were all sleeping with their eyes open. She put her negative thoughts to the back of her head.

“How much money can I make?” Tori asked.

“As much as your heart desires, if you win, of course.” He asserted.

Tori needed money to pay rent this month, and she only had five dollars to her name. If she could win anything over five dollars at this table, she would be golden.

“Okay, I’ll play. What are the rules?”

“If you roll double six or double one’s on the first roll, it is considered my turn. If you roll double ones three times in one game, I consider your soul mine to do with whatever I please. Lastly, if you roll snake eyes twice, you can’t quit until you win money. You make triple here because the stakes are so high with your soul.” He shrugged. “Other than that, the game is as simple as dice. I’ve seen you play around here before, so I’m sure you know the rules of dice, Tori.”

It creeped her out that he knew her name without her telling him, but she wouldn’t let that stop her from possibly winning money. She wanted to laugh when he said he would take her soul. How was he going to do that? The weird old man just wants to scare people.

“Okay, let us play.” She prodded.

Natas stretched his hand across the table, prompting Tori to shake it.

“Once you shake my hand, the deal is final, and the game will commence.”

Tori didn’t hesitate as she reached back, firmly shaking his hand. A grin surfaced on his face the moment she shook his hand.

“The first move is yours.” He assured as he threw the dice across the table.

Tori could have sworn there when they rolled there was a red glow around them.

“Am I tripping?” she mumbled to herself.

Lifting the dice, they felt heavier than standard dice. Tori rolled them quickly and stared until they stopped. Lucky number seven on the first roll.

“Oh, it looks like you’ve won fifteen on your first roll. Impressive.”

Tori instantly felt like this was her night to win it all. Rolling again, another seven. She looked up at Natas face, and he didn’t seem upset that she was winning the money, so she grabbed the dice again. This time it was a five.

“Okay, I can work with that.” effused Tori.

Five followed right after. Endorphins released throughout Tori’s body as she filled up with the excitement of winning. Minutes went by when she rolled her first double ones. The sight of the double ones didn’t scare her one bit, she was too happy with her success. To her dismay, the next roll also landed on snake eyes. Natas grin returned to his face as he shifted in his chair.

“The game just got interesting, my friend,” he assured.

Tori didn’t like the way he started looking and set the dice down.

“Okay, that’s enough, winning for me, Mr. Natas.” Tori declared as she began to walk away.

Tori walked two feet away from the table when she saw a red light in the corner of her eyes and an invisible force that stopped her from walking.

“Don’t you walk away from me!” Natas voice was low and fiery.

She turned her head to see Natas eyes emitting a red hue. Fear struck her like no other.

“Now come and roll again until you win!” he demanded as he used his power to float her back to the table. “Now, where were we? Ahh, I remember now. It’s your roll.”

Natas grabbed the dice and gently placed them back into Tori’s hands. Frozen with fear, she didn’t want to roll the dice anymore. She just held them. Natas became impatient and used his magic to shake her hands and release the dice. Four was the next number, but she needed a six.

“See, not so bad, right? Now roll again.”

Sweat drizzled its way from her forehead to her neck as he put the dice back in her hand. She watched as he forced her to shake the dice and roll them. Panic smacked her as if it were a moving train when she laid eyes upon the snake eyes she had just rolled.

“Looks like your game is over Tori, it was fun.” Natas snapped his finger, opening a portal next to him. “Take it.”

A hand reached out quickly, grabbing her head. She screamed in pain while her soul was being absorbed. Her eyes emitted the light of her soul as it was being yanked out and taken back into the portal. Natas snapped his finger again, closing the portal. All that was left was a soulless Tori, sitting at the table.