The four of them still in the game were gathered around the table. But the app was telling the Vampire that there was only one more innocent left — themself. The other three were Impostors, just waiting for the next round to pounce.

 

The Vampire only had one chance — to use this final vote to select the original Impostor. It had to be one of the three. 

 

Was it the Magician, in her sharp red-and-black outfit, who would have yanked people into trance with her handshakes? Was it the Confuser, in xir dazzlingly-patterned jumpsuit, who would have swept people’s minds away by burying them under confusing language? Or perhaps the Mesmerist, in her steampunk waistcoat and fob watch, who would have brought people under her spell with every swing of her timepiece?

 

Then, the Vampire thought a bit more. Yeah, it has to be. It can’t really be either of the others. The Vampire quickly tapped their vote on their phone, then looked directly at the original Impostor. “I know who you are.”

The original Impostor met the Vampire’s gaze as they delivered their accusation. The Impostor grinned, satisfied at how the day had gone, slowly getting everyone under their control, and being confronted at the last moment. Ever since they’d gotten the Queen of Diamonds and felt the Impostor suggestions take hold, they’d looked forward to a moment like this.

 

The Magician — the original Impostor — felt her phone buzz with a notification, and they knew it would be the screen that put her out of the game. So, just for a moment, they ignored it, rationalising that she couldn’t be certain that it was the screen that would take them out — and because she thought that, the suggestion didn’t trigger.

 

Instead, the Magician snapped their fingers. “Impostors, to me! Don’t look at your phones, and hold the Vampire in that chair.” The Confuser and the Mesmerist’s faces went blank, and they rose from their chairs. The Vampire was caught off guard — and, the Magician suspected, wanted to see where this was going — so they stayed in their chair for the few moments it took for the other two Impostors to press down on their shoulders, pinning them in place.

 

The Vampire’s eyes were wide, surprise written on their face. The Magician walked over to the Vampire’s side of the table, and approached their chair. The Magician set their shoulders high, summoning the presence that could enthrall an audience, make them hang on her every word. As the Magician felt that confidence settling around them like a cloak, she laughed, a dramatic, evil cackle.

 

“Now, my cute little Vampire. You were so clever in the end, but now you seem to be completely at my mercy.” The Magician brought up a single finger, placing it just in front of the Vampire’s eyes, and they automatically focused on it. “And so very susceptible,” she taunted, seeing how the Vampire was getting caught up in the Magician’s stage presence. The Magician started to wave their finger back and forth, and the Vampire’s eyes followed automatically, as helpless to look away as a mouse before a snake.

 

“That’s right, finding it so easy to watch my finger, unable to look away. You know, I wasn’t lying about how hard it would have been to do proper pattern interrupts — but I’ve always had a few more tricks up my sleeve than that. Kinesthetic inductions are also a particular specialty of mine. And of course, the flashy stage hypnosis ones, like the one you’re focusing so intently on right now.”

 

The Magician laughed self-deprecatingly. “Oh, look at that — I’m monologuing. Now I see why villains do it in all the movies — it’s so fun! But I’m afraid it’s curtains for you now, little Vampire.”

 

“You know just what’s going to happen when this finger touches your forehead, as you sink helplessly into a nice…” The Magician brought her finger closer, forcing the Vampire to imagine what was about to happen. “Deep…” The Vampire’s eyes crossed, trying to follow the fingertip. “Sleep.” And as the Magician’s finger made contact, the Vampire’s eyes rolled back, then closed as they slumped against the Magician’s hand, sighing away the last of their thoughts.