Now You See Me

by Debbie Viguié

  “Most stage magicians have a large ego,” he said.

  She wasn’t sure if she was really more upset about it than he was or if he was just hiding it better.

  “Do you know where that creep from the cemetery went?” she asked.

  “No. Frankly I’m glad we didn’t see him again.”

  She could tell he didn’t want to talk about it. “So, did you at least get some things you could use out of the show?” she asked, changing topic.

  He nodded.

  “Can we use them in our act?”

  He took a breath and turned to her. “Maybe. We need to start rehearsing.”

  “I’m free whenever you are,” she said.

  He nodded. “Wednesday afternoons no one uses the auditorium. Let’s shoot for then.”

  “I can’t wait,” she told him. She was surprised to realize that was true. The thought of helping with magic, even fake magic, was exciting.

  Wednesday morning Opal was both excited and nervous to start rehearsing the magic act with Mal. In her backpack she had a tank top and Capri pants that she was going to change into after school. Her aunt was going to have late meetings that night and she assured Tanya that she’d be fine on her own for dinner. Opal figured she could get Mal to take her out after rehearsal. It would be fun, a real date. She glanced down at the ring on her finger and shook her head. It felt like their entire relationship was happening backwards.

  Mal was tired and thoughtful looking when he picked her up. “Everything okay?” she asked as she pecked him on the cheek.

  “Yeah, long night,” he said with a yawn.

  “Are you still going to be up to rehearsing this afternoon?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” he said. “It’ll be my first time working with an assistant.”

  “That’s okay, it will be my first time working with an assistant as well,” she teased.

  “Glad to know I’ll be the first,” he said with a wink.

  For some reason it made her blush and she entwined her fingers with his as they walked.

  “We’ll have the auditorium all to ourselves. I figure we’ll be there about two hours. We’ll lock the doors so no one will disturb us.”

  “People will talk,” she said tartly.

  “Don’t they already? You should hear some of the rumors about us.”

  She turned and looked at him. “There are rumors...about us? New ones?”

  He grimaced. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  She felt herself bristling slightly, unhappy at being the object of idle gossip. Part of her said she shouldn’t be surprised but she still found that it smarted.

  “What do they say?” she asked.

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Well, I didn’t, but now how can I not want to know?”

  “I’m sorry. Forget about it,” he said, his voice dropping slightly.

  She smacked him on the shoulder. “Don’t pull those mind tricks on me.”

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “You will be if I catch you trying to do that again.”

  “Note to self, don’t get caught.”

  She glared at him.

  He bumped her shoulder with his. “I’m teasing.”

  “It’s not funny.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry.”

  “So, what are people saying?” she asked.

  “Well, there is the one about the librarian walking in on us in the library doing...things.”

  “We were doing things.”

  “Not the things the rumor suggests.”

  “Oh! You know, I think I heard that one already. I think that was like the second day I was at school.”

  “I’ve heard that we’ve eloped and are secretly married because you’re pregnant.”

  “It shouldn’t take forever for that rumor to die. It will become pretty obvious I’m not pregnant,” she said. Her cheeks started burning, though, as she tried to keep her voice calm.

  “I’ve even heard that you’re only with me because I threatened to kill your family otherwise.” His tone was still light-hearted.

  She turned to look at him and could see that there was a slightly pained expression on his face.

  “That’s terrible. Who says that?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows who started it. Anyway there are others, some even worse.”

  She shuddered. “Okay, I’m right back to not wanting to know.”

  “It’s better that way. I wish I didn’t know,” he said with a sigh.

  “Well, we’ll just have to start some good rumors.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Great. If you figure out what those could possibly be, let me know.”

  The day drug by and Opal practically ran out of the library when the final bell rang. She made it to her locker and Mal was already there waiting for her. He had changed clothes. He was wearing black slacks and a button down black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “I’ve got to change first,” she said as she opened her locker.

  “There’s a bathroom right outside the auditorium.”

  “I didn’t see you in the library,” she pouted.

  He didn’t sneak in every day, but she missed it when he didn’t.

  “Sorry, I had to go get a couple of things. I ran home and got the car, too. It will be dark when we leave so this way we can drive.”

  “You ran home?” she questioned.

  “Well, in a manner of speaking.”

  She snorted and rolled her eyes at him.

  A minute later she was inside the restroom changing into her practice clothes. When she emerged she followed Mal into the auditorium. He locked the doors.

  “Don’t want to give away any trade secrets?” she asked.

  “More like I don’t want any one walking in on us in case we’re kissing instead of rehearsing.”

  They made their way to the stage. There were already some things on it, including a board covered in a black cloth held up by two chairs on either end and a large silver ring that was a bit larger than a hula-hoop.

  “Our whole act is going to last about five or six minutes. I’ll do a few small tricks, then for the big finale I’ll levitate you,” Mal explained as they walked over to the table.

  “So, what do I have to do?” she asked.

  “The biggest thing you have to do is act like you’re in a trance,” he said. “Normally you might climb up and sit on the board then lie down but I was thinking about something a little more theatrical.”

  “Like what?” she asked.

  “I’m going to pretend to put you in a trance while you’re standing. Then, keeping your body stiff, you’re going to fall backward into my arms and I’ll lift you onto the board. That is, if you trust me to catch you,” he ended with a probing look.

  “You caught me even when I didn’t trust you. I think I’ll be fine, now,” she said.

  “Great. We’ll just have to work on the theatrics of it, amp up the mysticism and the sexiness.”

  “You were serious about the skimpy outfit, weren’t you?” she asked with a groan.

  He nodded. “We can get you a bathing suit or leotard, put a ton of rhinestones on it, get you in some high heels and voila!”

  “Easy for you to say. You won’t be the one half naked in front of the entire student body and their families.”

  “Yes, but if any student body here should be half naked, it’s yours,” he said with a wink.

  “Okay, so what next?” she said, ignoring his comment.

  “I’ll cover you with the sheet, and then I’ll raise and lower the board. You’ll appear to be levitating. I’ll pass the hoop over you twice to show that there are no wires. Then I’ll lower you back down and wake you up.”

  “Okay, so, if there are no wires, how’s it done?” she asked.

  “You’ll see soon enough,” he said with a grin.

  “Okay, fine. Where do we start?”

  He pulled her over
so that she was standing in the center of the board about three feet in front of it. “Now, turn sideways and look at me,” he said.

  She did as told. He stood to her side, his back to the board, still facing the audience.

  “Now, I will wave my hand in the air, and then pass it in front of your face. When I do, close your eyes, then fall backward making sure to keep your body stiff.”

  “That isn’t very sexy.”

  “It will be when you’re in costume,” he said.

  “Nope. Gratuitous maybe, but not sexy.”

  “You could do a little dance ahead of time like Caleb’s assistants do.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That is so not happening.”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, what do you suggest?”

  “Think of Phantom of the Opera, the obsession the Phantom has with Christine, the way he seduces her, mesmerizes her.”

  “I thought you never went to the theater?”

  “I saw the movie version, okay. And it was hot.”

  “I’m listening,” he said.

  “What if we do this as characters?”

  “Like the Phantom and Christine?”

  “Yes, or another couple, whatever, but we make the whole act about him trying to seduce her with this being the grand finale, when she’s finally in his grasp. We can set it to music.”

  He stared at her for a long minute.

  “What? You hate it?”

  “No, I actually think it’s pretty brilliant,” he said. “I’m working out some of it in my mind.”

  “Here, why don’t we just experiment for a minute or two?” she said.

  She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Playing a song to inspire us,” she said.

  “Something from Phantom?” he asked.

  “Yes. No, wait! I have something better than Phantom.”

  “What could possibly be better than Phantom?” he asked.

  She looked at him. “Yes, Phantom is perfect and beautiful, and creepy. But it’s too beautiful, too romantic almost.”

  “Is there any such thing?” he asked.

  “For this, yes. I mean we could do the whole Phantom thing and I think it would be awesome, but I think we’re missing an opportunity by not playing on the...grittier...rumors about us.”

  “I’m not sure I like where this is going,” he said.

  “Oh, trust me, it’s going to be epic,” she said, scrolling quickly through her songs. “We’re going to give them something to talk about.”

  She finally found the song she wanted. She cranked up the volume on her phone, hit play, and then set it down on one of the chairs.

  The driving beat of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These) began playing. Mal nodded his head in time to it.

  “So, what I was thinking-”

  Before she could say another word, Mal wrapped an arm around her, grabbed her hand and spun her into his chest and then out again. He grabbed the back of her neck and got close to her, moving around her like a predator about to devour her. He dropped one hand to her arm and suddenly dropped her, catching her by her neck and arm and yanking her back up until her body was pressed against him. He spun her back around and then grabbed her hips and swayed her body back and forth.

  She gasped as her blood began to pulse in time with the beat of the song. He moved the hand closest to the audience up to her face and trailed it down her cheek to her jaw then to her throat and to the upper part of her chest. She was getting hot and dizzy as his hand traveled farther down. She should object, but she didn’t want to. Just before he touched her breast he brought his other hand up and tapped her on the forehead.

  She fell backward and he caught her and hoisted her up into the air. She closed her eyes but kept her body stiff. He lifted her easily and a moment later she felt him set her down on the board. He leaned over her, his chest touching hers. He pressed his lips to her forehead then let them trail down to her mouth where they lingered for just a moment before he lifted them up.

  She opened her eyes a slit and saw him hoist himself up next to her, keeping his body parallel to hers he hovered, an inch above her, then let himself down on the other side of the board.

  “You mean something like that?” he asked, his voice ragged.

  She reached up and grabbed his face and pulled him down to kiss him. Her entire body was quivering and she didn’t quite trust herself to speak. After a few moments she let him go.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  He smiled down at her. “We make a good pair,” he said.

  He straightened and walked back around to the other side of the board as she sat up. He helped her hop off back onto the ground.

  “So, the hardest part will be to just lay there and not attack you,” she said.

  He chuckled. “That would be an entirely different kind of show.”

  “For part of the show we could have a strobe light going in time with the music,” she said. “That way it would make you look like you were disappearing and reappearing or moving in a freaky way.”

  “I like how you think. And I think the song choice is perfect.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a grin. “We could make the whole act like that, hunter and hunted. You stalking me, me running.”

  “Dang, girl, you really don’t care what people say, do you?”

  She smiled at him. “You and I know the truth. Who cares about everyone else?”

  He gave her a slow, sexy smile that made her heart start to pound again.

  “You’re giving me some ideas, let me grab a couple of props,” he said, moving toward the side of the stage.

  Suddenly a chill raced through her body. Something was wrong. She spun to face Mal. He was standing, head cocked to the side as if listening for something. He turned toward her. “Get back!” he shouted.

  Suddenly there was a popping sound and a swirl of brown lightning. A moment later Jonas appeared right in front of Mal. He threw a ball of lightning straight at Mal.

  Mal went down on one knee. In an instant he clapped his hands and threw them apart. She expected to see butterflies burst forth, but instead there was a flash of light on black and a dozen crows exploded into being and flew right into Jonas’ face. The man shouted in surprise and flailed for a moment as the birds hit him.

  A moment was all Mal must have needed because suddenly he was behind Jonas. He pulled a thin, red silk scarf out of his sleeve and wrapped it around the other man’s throat. Jonas immediately started choking and clawing at the scarf with his left hand. His right reached inside his jacket and he yanked out a short knife. He thrust it backward toward Mal. Mal dodged sideways, and the knife just barely scratched his cheek. Mal jerked the scarf tighter against Jonas’ throat with a shout. The man went down onto his knees, the knife clattering onto the floor as he now struggled with both hands to free himself. His face was beginning to change colors, his eyes were bulging.

  “Don’t kill him!” she shouted in terror as she realized what was happening.

  Mal flicked his gaze to her. He blinked as though considering her words. And in that moment lightning suddenly swirled around Jonas. A second later he was gone with a crack like a whip.

  Mal fell onto the ground, hand flying to the cut on his cheek. “I was holding him, keeping him from teleporting back out. Why did you distract me!” he demanded, voice furious.

  “I couldn’t just watch you kill him,” she said, half sobbing.

  Mal had gone pale and he suddenly started shaking. He screamed in agony and the sound ripped at her.

  “You...should...have let me kill...him,” he sputtered.

  “Why?”

  “Because...he killed me.”

  She stared at him, struggling to understand what he was saying. His body was shaking harder and suddenly he started convulsing. Her eyes fell on the knife that had scratched Mal’s cheek.

  It was poisoned, she realized in a flash.

&nbs
p; She ran forward and dropped on the floor next to him. “Can’t you pull the poison out?” she cried, wondering if he could even hear her.

  He turned his head with great effort. His pupils were so dilated she couldn’t see any blue in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to speak but couldn’t. He was no longer making any sounds except that of his body thrashing against the floor. Then, suddenly, she could hear him screaming in her head. A moment later she heard the words through the screaming.

  Not from myself.

  “Could another magic user do it?” she shouted, trying to hear herself over the screaming in her head.

  Yes.

  “Where? Where can I find someone?”

  Too far away. Never get back in time.

  “I have to try,” she sobbed.

  You should leave...you don’t need to see how this ends.

  The voice in her head was barely a whisper this time, hoarse, pleading.

  “No! I’m not leaving you!” she shrieked.

  His eyes rolled in his head. His body was still convulsing but the screaming in her mind stopped suddenly. The quiet that descended terrified her even more. He was dying. She knew it. She could feel it. She couldn’t let him leave her.

  “Don’t you die,” she whispered.

  There was no response.

  “I said, don’t you die!” she said, raising her voice.

  Sorry.

  She heard the word as the faintest echo in her mind.

  24

  “Don’t die!” Opal shouted. All her fear and pain and grief and rage rushed through her and she could feel electricity dancing on her skin. She pulled Mal’s hand away from the cut on his cheek. It was as though she could see the poison as it wound its way through his body.

  “Stop!” she screamed, clamping her hand down on the wound.

  There was a rush of blistering heat through her body that felt like it was burning her from within. A spot of white hot heat pulsed just below her throat.

  “You are not dying today!”

  Suddenly she felt all the heat and electricity that had been building up rush out of her and into Mal, flashing into the wound on his cheek and pushing its way into his hand that she was still holding. She imagined it igniting the poison, burning it in a wildfire.