Viva Las Vegas Who: Cassandra and Gabriel Where: Las Vegas When: July 2, 1966
The last time Cassandra had been in Las Vegas, it had been little more than the farmland and meadows for which it had been named. She'd had a premonition, then; walking among the quiet paddocks she had seen such impossibly bright lights, illuminating crowding flocks of people not yet born. It had been a vision of wealth and extravagance, seemingly so improbable, where fortunes were made and broken and made again faster than she could register. But even having witnessed it, it was hard for Cassie to believe her vision was fulfilling itself so quickly.
When she had first arrived in town, she'd been more curious than anything else. She had wandered along the Strip without hurry, staring in frank fascination at the transformation that had been wrought on this once sleepy place. After a time, she had let herself be drawn into a casino, though she had precious little money to be gambling it away. Cassandra had never played blackjack before, but there seemed to be very little to it. After studying a table of players with such intense concentration that she'd drawn several laughs, she had found herself persuaded to sit down herself. Several hands later, the players were no longer smiling.
A stern-faced man had pulled her up none-too-gently, informing Cassandra in icy tones that the casino did not allow card counters and suggesting that she take her winnings and quit while she was ahead. She had furrowed her brow and responded honestly that she had thought that to be the point - to count to twenty-one - but nevertheless, she now found herself back out on the Strip, her pockets somewhat heavier than before.
(It was probably for the best she hadn't been familiar with the term "counting cards". It would hardly have improved matters if she'd thought to correct the man and explain that she hadn't been counting the cards at all, but merely listening to what they had to tell her.)
Her winnings would ensure her some decent hot dinners, but somehow the evening seemed to sour after that. The lights that had so intrigued her at first were beginning to hurt her eyes, the noisy throngs of people were giving her a headache, and she couldn't quite get her mind off the brief sensation - a twist of the stomach, a metallic taste of blood in her mouth, both gone almost before she had even registered it - she'd felt when she had claimed her money. For a city of such bright lights, Cassie thought, Las Vegas was a dark place. She resolved to spend the cash, rid herself of it as soon as she could, even if it meant foregoing a few warm meals.
She had stopped paying attention to where she was moving at this point. She was drifting, letting herself be carried by the crowd, when through the cacophony she caught one clear, pure note. It stopped Cassie in her tracks and she stiffened, sure for a moment that she must have imagined it, but the sound continued, a golden thread of harmony in the midst of chaos. Without ever being entirely aware of having made the decision, Cassandra altered her path, to follow the strand of music back to its source.