Jeffry squeezed my hand. “Well, then, we should keep walking. These tracks have to lead somewhere, don’t they?”
* * *
We walked for days. We never grew thirsty, or hungry, or tired, but we stopped when the sun went down. Jeffry rambled on about his brother’s gold claim, his mother’s fortune, and his schooling.
I told him about life with Freddy—bratty kids, annoying parents, and life on the road.
“Why in the world do you want to be a magician, if that’s the life they lead?” he asked me after one particularly bloodcurdling story about an angry mother.
“I don’t want to do stage magic. I want to learn the deep magic.”
“But what do you want to do with it?” he asked.
I shrugged. I’d never really thought of it. “I guess I’m hoping that the right path will reveal itself. When I’m ready.”
* * *
Eventually, we reached the station at the end of the tracks. A man in a tux and top hat stepped into the sun and waved at us.
“Who’s that?” Jeffry asked.
“The Great Raymundo,” I said, suddenly understanding Freddy’s warning.
“The dead guy? The one in the book?”
“The very same!” The Great Raymundo strode toward us, grinning. The lines of his tux were razor sharp, and his white shirt glistened in the sunlight.
I felt very grimy. “And we’re in the book with you, aren’t we?” I asked.
He grinned at me and winked at Jeffry. “Quite a clever one, isn’t she?”
“So it’s not a vision?” Jeffry asked.
The Great Raymundo shrugged. “Where is the line between what is real and what isn’t, really?”
“Why have you brought us here?” I asked.
The Great Raymundo leaned toward Jeffry and stage whispered, “Impatient, too.”
Jeffry looked ready to strike him, and for that I was certain to always love him. “Just answer the lady’s question.”
The Great Raymundo laughed. “Well, I brought you here to test you, girl. You are the only interesting candidate I’ve seen in half a century. You’re the one who dragged him along.”
“Did I pass your test?” I asked.
The Great Raymundo beamed at me. His teeth were even whiter than his shirt. “What makes you think it’s over?”
“The fact that you’re here,” Jeffry snapped.
“I just wanted a closer look at you,” The Great Raymundo said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to look at a—what did you call her—oh, yes. A lady.”
I grabbed Jeffry’s arm before he could swing. “Well, you’ve had a look at me.”
The Great Raymundo leered. “Indeed.”
“So, now what?” I asked.
“I will consent to teach you. But only if you carry my book with you always, over your heart.”
“You mean in my bodice.”
The Great Raymundo nodded. “Indeed.”
“And we’ll wake from this vision?”
The Great Raymundo nodded.
“And if I refuse you?”
The Great Raymundo shrugged. “Who knows? Perhaps I’ll keep you here forever, to amuse me. Perhaps not. You’ll definitely never become the magician you so long to be. You need me, girlie.”
Jeffry squeezed my hand and leaned in close to my ear. “We managed to slay his monster. Maybe we can rid ourselves of him, too,”
I remembered Jeffry vanishing into the monster’s mouth, and shook my head. “It’s too dangerous.”
“There must be another way,” Jeffry said. “You can’t bind yourself to this... lecherous cad.”
I thought of Freddy’s book, already tucked into my belt. I turned to The Great Raymundo. “I want your word that you’ll release us and never try to harm either of us again, and that if I carry you in my bodice, you’ll teach me.”
“I swear it upon my very soul,” The Great Raymundo said.
“Very well.”
The Great Raymundo waved his hands with impressive flourish. There was a flash of light, and I found myself back on the train, click-clacking along just as it should. My head was resting on Jeffry’s shoulder.
He opened his eyes and looked around. Then he looked down at me. Worry shadowed his eyes. “Miss Banks?”
I kissed him. For the first time, we were clean and comfortable. We didn’t rush.
Eventually, though, I grew aware of an uncomfortable pressure against my breastbone. I pulled away, and pulled the book from my bodice. It was bound in red leather and The Magician’s Manual was embossed on the cover in gold leaf.
“The cheek,” Jeffry grumbled.
It was a beautiful book. And it was my key to becoming the greatest magician who ever lived—to The Brotherhood of Magicians accepting me—to whatever it was that my dreams would hold.
I tossed the book through the open window.
Jeffry gaped at me. “But—”
“I don’t want to keep him in my bosom, so he is under no obligation to teach me.” I pulled out Freddy’s journal. “I already have a book that I can learn from. And this one doesn’t ogle or give orders. I will write to Freddy when we arrive, and see if we can arrange some sort of correspondence course.”
Jeffry took the book from my hand, carefully tucked it back into my bag, and kissed me. “Maybe you can help me look for gold.”
The happiness that shivered along my skin felt almost like magic. “Maybe I can.”
Copyright © 2012 Jamie Lackey
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Jamie Lackey earned her BA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Her fiction has been published in over a dozen different venues, including The Living Dead 2 and Daily Science Fiction. She reads slush for Clarkesworld Magazine. Find her online at www.jamielackey.com.
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COVER ART
“Lost Citadel,” by Jonas De Ro
Jonas De Ro is a Belgian digital artist specializing in concept art and photography. He also has experience in animation, visual effects, and sound design. He has worked on commercials and music videos and is currently a concept artist for the upcoming science-fiction movie Jupiter Ascending, directed by the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix). Visit his website to view a selection of his works..
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
ISSN: 1946-1076
Published by Firkin Press,
a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Literary Organization
Copyright © 2012 Firkin Press
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