by Michael Dahl
“What?!” said Charlie.
“That’s ridiculous!” shouted Ty.
Brack put up his hand to silence the boys. “What if I do show how it was done?” Brack asked Theopolis. “What will you give me?”
Theopolis frowned in disdain. “It’s barely worth considering,” he said, “but if that happens, which I very much doubt, I suppose we can work together to reach some sort of . . . monetary agreement.”
“No money,” Brack said. “You will agree never to step foot inside this hotel again.”
“Very well,” said Theopolis. He bowed deeply.
Brack stood up from his chair and walked out from behind the table. He didn’t look like the old elevator operator today. He didn’t look old at all, except in the way that a tall and mighty oak tree looks old.
Brack stood in front of Theopolis. They were about the same height when Brack stood fully upright.
“Begin your trick, Theo,” Brack said. He didn’t smile.
“It’s no trick,” said Theopolis.
“Yes, yes,” Brack said. “It’s true magic. Just get on with it.”
Theopolis bowed deeply, smiling. With a flourish of his black robe, he walked to the far side of the pool. He pushed roughly through the gathering crowds.
For a moment, Charlie lost sight of the magician. Then Theopolis reappeared at the edge of the pool. He walked to the end of the diving board and stopped.
Ty and Charlie shuffled over to stand with Brack. “You boys watch closely,” Brack said out of the side of his mouth. “You can bet Theopolis won’t make this easy.”
Charlie nodded. But he wasn’t worried. He and Ty had solved one of Theopolis’s tricks before. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard.
* * *
Any hopes Charlie and Ty had that this trick would be as simple as Theopolis’s last one were dashed right away.
Theopolis was in prime form. Thick white smoke rose up from the ground and settled over the roof.
Theopolis threw back his head and raised his staff with both hands. Thunder clapped across the sky. Party guests flinched and ran for cover under canopies and on the mansion’s big front porch.
Only Brack, Charlie, and Ty stayed beside the pool.
The whole rooftop estate filled with an eerie red light. The light crackled and popped, like tiny bolts of lightning.
“Great demons of the dimensions of power!” Theopolis shouted up at the thundering red sky. “I call upon you! Bestow upon me your darkest power!”
As he spoke, the thunder grew louder. The sky became a deeper, darker red. The lights at the party—which had been so bright and friendly—switched off.
Suddenly the rooftop party looked less like a celebration of Abracadabra’s return, and more like a vision from a nightmare.
“Give me the power!” Theopolis screamed at the sky once more.
Then—slowly at first—he rose from the diving board. He kept his head and arms up to the sky, as he rose higher and higher, until he was at least twenty feet over the pool.
Magicians gasped and muttered. Assistants sighed and clapped. Charlie and Tyler looked at each other, and then stared back at Theopolis.
But Theopolis wasn’t done yet.
High above the rooftop, the robed figure floated farther out over the pool. He brought down the staff and lowered his head for a moment.
The crowd hushed.
Suddenly, Theopolis threw the staff straight up into the dark red sky and the white clouds of smoke and the streaks of lightning.
Charlie knew that all of it—the smoke, the thunder, the lightning—was just special effects. Still, he couldn’t help being impressed. Theopolis might be a fame-hungry, underhanded jerk, but he was good at putting on a show.
The staff reached its apex and seemed to explode. When it fell back toward Theopolis—who was still floating high above the swimming pool—it was in three pieces.
The Great Theopolis didn’t flinch. He caught the three pieces and immediately tossed them up. Before Charlie could guess what had happened, Theopolis was juggling the three pieces perfectly.
The crowd cheered. Brack nodded, impressed. Ty leaned closer to Charlie and whispered, “Since when does Theopolis juggle?”
Charlie shrugged. It was a good question.
Finally, Theopolis caught all three pieces at once. The staff seemed to reassemble itself. He held it aloft once more.
“I thank you, great demons of my dimension!” he shouted into the clouds. “And now, go back to your own realm!”
Lightning cracked. The thunder boomed its loudest crash yet. Charlie had to cover his ears with his hands. The red light flashed brightly, and Charlie had to turn away and close his eyes.
When Charlie looked back, Theopolis was gone.
“Where’d he go?” someone shouted.
Chattering spread through the crowd of magicians and assistants. Most of them sounded very impressed. A few magicians standing near Brack and the boys said things like, “Pff, I could do that,” and, “That wasn’t much of a trick,” and, “I don’t see what the big deal is.”
But it was a big deal, Charlie knew. Theopolis had levitated, called demons from another dimension, controlled the weather, and vanished. He’d even juggled.
Brack put his arms around Ty and Charlie.
“I hope you boys were watching closely,” he said quietly. “I’ll need your help to figure this one out.”
Just then, someone stepped up behind them.
“Counting on the help of two children?” said Theopolis. He laughed. “This proves it. You are too old, too out of touch with magic today.”
Brack didn’t respond.
“You have less than one week,” Theopolis said. “Then you will vacate the theater, cancel your farewell show, and hand over this hotel—and this rooftop estate—to me.”
He pulled up his hood, sneered at Charlie and Ty, and stormed for the exit.
“What a nasty man,” Charlie said.
Brack nodded. “Indeed,” he said, “but he is also a master illusionist.”
“What are you saying?” Ty asked.
“I’m saying that I hope you two have some ideas,” Brack said, “because frankly, I’m stumped.”
With that, the old magician walked back to his table under the canopy. None of the other magicians went over to him. They just sipped their drinks, nibbled their snacks, and talked quietly to each other about how amazing Theopolis’s trick was.
The next day was Monday, so Charlie and Ty had to get back to school. Charlie had a load of homework he hadn’t done over the weekend, so for the next two days, he was stuck at home after school. He didn’t get back to the hotel until Wednesday afternoon.
“Have you figured anything out?” Charlie asked Ty when he arrived at the Abracadabra.
“Of course not,” Ty said. He was lounging on the couch nearest the front desk. He nodded toward the elevators.
Charlie turned to look. There was Brack—back in his elevator operator uniform—sitting in his chair in the lobby right by the elevators. He didn’t look happy.
“He’s been like that since the party, pretty much,” Ty said. “I think he’s just hoping Theopolis will let him stay on as elevator operator when he gives him the hotel.”
Charlie shook his head sadly. “He’s really given up already?” he asked.
“Can you blame him?” Ty said.
Just then, the front doors of the hotel swung open and Theopolis entered.
And so did a lot of other people.
Charlie recognized some of the assistants from the party. They trailed close behind him. There were a few magicians from the party too, including Mr. Thursday, the juggling expert.
And behind the whole group of magic people were reporters. They barked questions and took photos and shot video.
&nbs
p; Theopolis led the little parade, his face full of pride. When he reached the center of the lobby—where he could be easily seen by everyone, including Brack—he stopped.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Theopolis said, smiling smugly, “I will answer all your questions. Now, who is first?”
Joey Bingham stepped up and held out his microphone. “What are your plans for the hotel when you take it over?” he asked.
“See?” said Ty quietly to Charlie. “Everyone’s acting like Brack’s already lost.”
Theopolis made a big show of looking up and around the lobby. “So much wasted space,” he said. Then he ran a finger along the back of a nearby lobby chair. “And everything is so old.”
He pretended his finger was dirty just from having rubbed the chair. The reporters gathered around him chuckled.
Charlie glanced at Brack. The old magician hung his head.
“My plan is a full reboot, if you follow me,” Theopolis said. He walked toward the elevators as he spoke. “I will modernize everything. There will be projectors and flat-panel screens all over the lobby. There will be a complete staff change, naturally.”
“Naturally,” grunted Ty sarcastically.
“We’ll start by tearing up the old theater,” Theopolis said, just as he and his group reached the elevators. “Now excuse me. I will go up to my room.”
Without even looking at Brack, he barked out, “Thirteenth floor, please, old man.” Then he stepped into the elevator with his two hobbled assistants. Brack got up with a sigh and stepped into the elevator too. The doors closed.
Charlie gritted his teeth. “It’s time for us to get to work,” he said.
Ty nodded. “Where do we start?”
“First, we talk to Rocky,” Charlie said.
“He’s in the office,” Ty said, slipping behind the front desk. “Come on.”
Charlie followed. Soon the two boys were sitting in the main office. Rocky, the hotel’s bellhop, leaned on a file cabinet in the corner.
“So,” Charlie said, “are you with us?”
“Sure,” said Rocky. “I don’t want Brack to lose the hotel either. Can you imagine working for that nut Theopolis? No way. So, how can I help?”
“Give us a list of every magician who checked into the hotel since Brack’s press conference,” Charlie said.
“Why do we want that?” Ty asked.
“They were all at the party,” Charlie said, “and they’re all experts in magic, to some degree. Maybe one of them can help us.”
“Coming right up,” Rocky said. He went to the front desk and started tapping at the computer.
“What if they won’t help us?” Ty said.
Charlie thought about it. “I don’t know,” he said, “but right now, what else can we do?”
Ty and Charlie talked to magicians all afternoon and into the evening. Charlie had to call home and tell his parents he’d miss dinner.
It was late when they got to Mr. Thursday, the juggler, and they weren’t even halfway down the list yet.
Ty knocked on the door of room 1001. The juggler opened the door immediately.
“Yes?” he said. “Oh, it’s you two. Come on in.” He moved back inside and left the door open for them.
Charlie looked around. The room was a mess, strewn with bowling pins and bowling balls, softballs and baseballs, unlit torches, knives and batons. “I hope we’re not bothering you,” Charlie said.
“Oh, no,” Mr. Thursday replied. “I was just in the middle of practicing. I’m always in the middle of practicing, actually.”
“We won’t take up too much of your time,” Charlie said. “We’re asking everyone who was at the party if they had thoughts about Theopolis’s big trick.”
“Helping out old man Brack, huh?” Mr. Thursday said. He sat down on the couch and crossed his legs.
“We’re trying to,” Ty said. He sat down too. “We’ve already talked to, like, a hundred magicians.”
“Well, maybe ten,” Charlie said.
“Whatever,” said Ty. “The point is we still have no idea how Theopolis did that stuff.”
Mr. Thursday’s eyebrows went up. “No idea at all?” he said.
Charlie shook his head.
“Well, the juggling was very good,” Mr. Thursday said. “In fact, it was some of the best juggling I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Really?” said Ty. “That’s surprising to hear. You’re the best juggler around. I wouldn’t think you’d be so quick to praise Theopolis. Is he a friend of yours?”
“Of course not,” Thursday said with a chuckle. “I’ve never even talked to him. I just think his juggling performance was very good.”
“Especially since he was floating in midair,” added Charlie.
Mr. Thursday stood up. “I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “I’m no levitation expert.”
He moved toward the door. “Now, if you two will excuse me,” he said. “I have a lot of practicing to do.”
Ty stood up. “Do you have a performance coming up?” he asked.
“If everything goes according to plan,” Mr. Thursday said, “yes.”
Charlie and Ty stepped into the hallway. Mr. Thursday closed the door.
Ty sighed. “That was no help at all,” he said, glancing at the list. “Let’s see, who’s next?”
Charlie yawned. “I have to get home,” he said. “Let’s pick this up tomorrow after school.”
“Okay,” said Ty. “Three o’clock. Don’t be late.”
The next day of school was the longest Charlie had ever experienced. As soon as the last bell rang, he hurried to the hotel.
Ty was already there. “Finally,” said the bigger boy when Charlie ran into the lobby, out of breath. “What took you so long?”
“How . . . how did you get here so fast?” Charlie said.
Ty laughed. “Take a guess,” he said. “What’s quicker than walking? In fact, what’s as fast as . . . lightning?”
Charlie gasped. “You got it?” he said. “You got your bike?”
Grinning, Ty pulled it out from behind the front desk: the Tezuki Slamhammer 750, Edition 6, in cherry-pop lightning red.
“That’s amazing,” Charlie said, staring at the beautiful bike. “Nice work.”
“Okay,” said Ty. “Enough ogling. Let’s get started.”
Mr. Madagascar frowned when he opened the door. “What do you two want?” he said. He was in a nice emerald-green suit, but his room was a complete mess. There were at least a dozen mirrors of all sizes leaning against the walls and furniture.
“Were you at the party the other night?” Ty asked. “The one at Brack’s rooftop estate, upstairs.”
“Of course I was,” Mr. M. said. “Every magician in the city was there.”
“Did you see the trick?” Charlie asked.
“Theopolis’s magic?” Mr. Madagascar said. He leaned on the open doorway.
He hasn’t invited us in, Charlie thought.
“Yes, I saw it,” Mr. M. said. “It was very impressive, wasn’t it? The levitation was very good. Over water? Difficult business. But you two wouldn’t understand.”
“That good, huh?” Charlie said. “I didn’t know Theopolis was an expert in levitation.”
Mr. Madagascar squinted at the boy. “Yes,” he said slowly, in a very rough voice. “I didn’t know either.”
“But you were impressed?” Charlie asked.
“Quite,” said Mr. Madagascar.
Just then, someone cleared their throat behind the boys, and Charlie spun to see. It was Dotty Drake, Mr. Madagascar’s assistant.
Mr. Madagascar looked at the boys. “Now you’ll have to excuse us. Dotty and I are about to rehearse our act.”
“Do you have a show soon?” Charlie asked.
“Ah, nothi
ng scheduled yet, exactly,” Madagascar said. “But we’re very hopeful.”
Then Dotty closed the door in their faces.
The boys spent the rest of the afternoon and evening talking to other magicians. No one was especially helpful. It was nearly eight before they gave up for the night.
Charlie leaned against the front desk and yawned. “I guess I better get home,” he said.
Tyler nodded. “We only have a couple more days,” he said. “I’m losing hope.”
Just then, Brack stepped out of the elevator and plodded across the lobby.
“Brack!” Charlie and Ty shouted. They ran over to him.
“Where have you been?” Charlie asked. “We’ve hardly seen you since the party.”
Brack looked tired. He sat down on a bench and considered the boys. “I’ve been hard at work,” he said.
“Rehearsing for the big farewell show?” Ty asked.
Brack sighed. “Why waste my time with that?” he said. “If I lose this bet, there won’t be a farewell show.” He put his hands on his knees and sat up straighter. “No,” he said, “I’ve been trying to duplicate Theopolis’s trick.”
“Any luck?” Charlie said. “We could use your insight.”
“Put it this way,” Brack said, smiling. “I’m wearing my elevator operator outfit because all my other clothes are upstairs hanging out to dry.”
“Fell in the pool a few times?” Ty said.
“Try ten times,” Brack said. He chuckled. “I’ll miss this place.”
Charlie put a hand on Brack’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, Mr. Abracadabra,” he said. “I promise.”
But Brack didn’t seem to be listening. He shook his head sadly. “I just can’t figure it out,” he said. “Juggling, levitation, special effects, vanishing . . . it’s like four magicians rolled into one.”
He sighed. Then he got up and headed for the break room.
Charlie hardly slept for the next two nights. On Saturday, he knew he should go down to the Abracadabra Hotel for some last-minute investigating, but he couldn’t bear to.
