“You’re in an extra good mood,” Mal noted after they were in the car.
“Tanya’s taking me on vacation,” she said with a grin.
“Oh,” he said. “That’s nice I guess.”
“Something wrong?”
“I’ll miss you,” he said.
“What good is it having a boyfriend who can teleport if he can’t come visit me on vacation?” she asked.
“Really?” he said, perking up.
“Yup. It was her idea.”
“Remind me to thank her.”
When they walked into the auditorium a few minutes later it looked like an entirely different place to Opal. She had never seen it with all the lights on and people scurrying about.
“It feels like we’ve been invaded,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” Mal said with a sigh.
They made it to the front of the stage where they checked in with a man holding a clipboard. Opal didn’t know him, but assumed he must be a teacher.
“Okay, as I understand it, you need 10 minutes to setup, but you can do so quietly, is that right?” he asked Mal.
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, we have a pianist who will be playing in front of the curtain so you can setup behind as long as you guarantee me you can do it quietly,” the man said, glaring at Mal over his spectacles.
“I guarantee it will be quiet,” Mal said.
“Okay, excellent. So, then you will be the last act.”
“Great. Opal, I’m going to go get things into place. I’ll see you backstage after you’ve changed,” Mal said. He hoisted himself onto the stage and moved toward the wings.
“How many acts are there?” Opal asked the man with the clipboard.
“Thirteen.”
The man turned and gave her a smile that sent a chill dancing up her spine. There was something wrong about him. “I hope you’re not superstitious,” he whispered, soft enough that only she could hear. He smiled larger.
And in her mind she heard him whisper, Are you, Opal?
31
Opal turned and ran for the stairs at the side of the stage. Once up on it she headed for the wings where she’d seen Mal disappear. A moment later she ran into him.
“Opal, what’s wrong?” he asked, as he reached out and steadied her.
“That man, with the clipboard, he’s one of you, one of us, he threatened me. I heard him inside my head,” she gasped.
Mal pulled her farther back from the stage away from the people milling about. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
She told him what the man had said to her.
“Are you sure he said that inside your head?” he asked.
“Yes, and he was real mean, scary.”
He shook his head. “Mr. Jeeter isn’t a magic user. I’ve known him for years. Heck, I’ve had to mesmerize him a couple of times just to keep him from finding out about magic.”
“I’m telling you he has magic.”
“And I’m telling you that’s not possible. Mr. Jeeter doesn’t have magic. I’m positive.”
“Then that’s not Mr. Jeeter!” she hissed.
Mal took a step back. “Look, just take a deep breath. I know you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and sometimes that can make you jump at shadows.”
Panic flooded through her. He doesn’t believe me, she realized. She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Don’t you pull that crap with me. I’ve believed you about so much, even when I had no reason to. I know what I felt, what I heard. And if you aren’t willing to take that seriously then you can find yourself a new assistant!”
“Whoa, whoa!” Mal said. He put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, okay, just breathe, please. Give me a second to get my head around this, alright?”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak to him at that moment.
“Okay, slowly, once more, tell me everything,” he said.
She forced herself to slow down and she described for him in detail what the man had said, how he’d looked, and the feelings she’d had while he was talking to her after Mal had left.
When she was done he nodded. “Okay, stay here, I’ll be right back.”
He strode back toward the front of the stage and she waited, her agitation increasing. Finally he returned, his jaw clenched.
“Well?”
“I couldn’t find him. A couple other teachers are out there who are helping run things tomorrow night. No one saw where he went.”
“What do we do?”
“Nothing, for now. We get ready for our act.”
She stared at him in frustration. She wanted to scream at him. She forced herself to count to ten, though, and afterward realized that wouldn’t do any good. After all, what could they do at the moment but wait? If Mr. Jeeter was a Trickster, it was, unfortunately, his move.
“Do you need me to walk you to the restroom?” Mal asked.
“No, I’m a big girl, I can get there myself,” she snapped.
“That’s not what I...I’m sorry, okay. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
She nodded and then turned and headed toward the front of the stage. The restrooms were just outside the auditorium. As she made her way to them she kept looking around her with every step, waiting for Mr. Jeeter to suddenly appear beside her.
She made it into the bathroom and locked herself in a stall. She stood there for a minute, trying to calm herself down. Unfortunately, all she could think of was every horror movie she’d ever seen where the killer came into the bathroom and moved down the line of stalls looking for the girl who was hiding.
“I am not some nameless victim,” she breathed.
Suddenly the bathroom door slammed open and she jumped. She clamped her hand over her mouth. A moment later, though, she heard a couple girls laughing, talking about some guy.
She dropped her head to her chest. Tanya was right. She needed a vacation badly. It would be nice to spend a few days somewhere without having to constantly worry if bad guys were coming for her or Mal. It would be wonderful. She had a show to get through first, though. She hung her duffel on the door hook and unzipped it, preparing to get into her costume.
Twenty minutes later she was standing with Mal and all the other performers being given some final instructions before they started. She looked around. Everyone looked keyed up. Some were clearly excited, others obviously nervous. No one looked like they were feeling the dread she was, though.
Of course, none of them had reason to think someone might try to kill them.
“You are the cutest bunny ever,” Mal whispered into her ear.
She blushed. They had finally decided to start with her dressed like a giant bunny coming out of the hat. Then, when she reappeared in the vanishing closet she’d be out of the bunny outfit and in the dress. After he chased her across the stage and ripped off the dress she’d be wearing the flame repellant leotard. She had gone ahead and added some crystals to it after much deliberation and it now sparkled and shone brilliantly.
“Okay, let’s get this show rolling,” the teacher in front of them said enthusiastically. “Places, everyone.”
Everyone scattered. Mal and Opal went backstage to the green room where they’d be waiting for most of the show until it was time to start setting up for their act. They sat there and Opal couldn’t stop fidgeting. Finally she got up.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to watch from the wings. I’d like to check out the competition since this will be my only real chance.”
“Okay, I’ll come with you.”
Together they made their way to stage right and stood, unseen by those in the audience.
A man took the stage, clearly he was the emcee for the event. He looked familiar but Opal was sure she hadn’t seen him at school before.
“Who is that?” she whispered to Mal.
“Bradley Jacobs. He’s a news anchor out of Boston. They got him to host this because it’s the twentieth anniversary. He was
a student here twenty years ago and he hosted it then. I think he’s going to give a brief history, a eulogy, something.”
He must have known my mom, Opal thought sadly.
Opal nodded. Jacobs did, indeed, give a speech and then he introduced the first act. As they watched Opal was impressed by how good some of their classmates were. There was a juggler, a couple of singers, and a ballerina for the first few acts. All of them had clearly spent years and years practicing.
Just like Mal.
Totally unlike her.
She felt her chest begin to tighten. Then, Mal wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. As she leaned her head against his shoulder she started to breathe easier. She trusted him. He knew what he was doing, even if she didn’t.
Finally the curtain was drawn and he signaled to her that it was time for them to start setting up. She carried both chairs out and put them in position seemingly holding up the board she’d be laying on. Once Mal had positioned the board and the mechanism that helped it raise and lower she draped the black tablecloth on the table and then set the black hoop that turned into a hat on top of that.
As a pianist began to play on stage she wheeled out the vanishing cabinet while Mal was busy positioning the some dark curtains, lights, and mirrors around the stage.
It sounded like the pianist was finally reaching the end of his piece and Mal pointed toward the trapdoor. Opal was able to quietly open it and then drop down and close it as the pianist finished with a flourish.
As she waited there in her bunny suit her heart felt like it was beating as fast as a rabbit’s. A minute passed and then she heard a brooding, dreamy music start up. A second later she heard Mal speaking, his voice booming. she knew he was holding up the black hoop, spinning it back and forth in the air as he spoke.
“A magician, a man starts out alone, but there is only so much he can do. So, he begins to dream, dream of someone who can help him, who can share his passion, his pain. And so, he works, to give the dream form.”
There was a thud on the floorboards right above her and she knew he had tossed the hoop down and it should have popped into the form of a large black hat. The music suddenly shifted to the driving beat of Sweet Dreams. She opened the trapdoor and saw the black hat in front of her, concealing the door. Mal reached his hand down and she knew that to the audience it looked like he was reaching into the hat. She took his hand and let him appear to pull her out of the hat. The music pulsed through her, setting her blood on fire. It covered the sound of the trapdoor falling back into place.
Mal walked her up to the front of the stage where the vanishing box was waiting. She stepped into it. He spun her around as she pulled out and slid behind the false back. She dropped her bunny suit.
The box stopped and she could hear Mal open the door, revealing what appeared to be an empty box. He closed it and as he spun it again she pushed open the back, stepped out of the bunny suit, and then pushed the false back into its place again. The box stopped, Mal opened the door, and she stepped out, this time wearing a white slinky dress slit almost to the hip on the right side.
As rehearsed she bolted out of the box, looking around as though terrified at the transformation she had undergone, then staring at him and backing up as he approached. She turned, ran, and then stopped, knowing that through the use of the screens and the mirrors the audience would think he had appeared right in front of her. She spun, ran toward the back of the stage, and skidded to a halt at the right place for everyone to think that he had appeared in front of her.
This would be easier if I could see what the audience is seeing, she thought as she turned and raced back across the stage. This time Mal stepped out from behind a curtain right in front of her. He grabbed her waist, his hand seizing on the velcro enclosure for her dress. She spun away, leaving the dress in his hand.
Now she was in the leotard which shimmered, casting light all around as the stage lights hit the crystals. Mal began to stalk her, all the while the song ramped up more. He caught her, spun around her as they had first rehearsed, brought his hand down her cheek, her throat, to her chest, then touched her forehead with his free hand and she dropped straight back.
He caught her and lifted her onto the table then rolled over her seductively. Moving into position behind her he wrapped her in the black draping. With her eyes closed she could feel the table rise into the air. She knew he passed a hoop over her twice before lowering her back down.
Then he unwrapped her, picked her up, and carried her to the front of the stage. She remained as still as she could. The music was coming to an end. He bent down and kissed her. She opened her eyes swiftly. He dropped her onto her feet and bent her backward with one arm while raising the other into the air as the song ended.
They held for a second and then she laughed. “We did it!”
He stood her up and hugged her. “You were amazing.”
Bradley, the emcee, ran onto the stage. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was our last act. Now we need to give our judges a moment to tally their scores so we can decide a winner.”
It’s going to be us, Opal thought as she beamed at Mal.
“Okay, we’ll close the curtain at this point,” the man said, addressing the stage manager. Then he turned around. “Alright, good job, everyone, now here’s how this is going to end.”
Everyone came flooding from the wings to listen.
“I’ll talk for a few minutes, and everyone can gather backstage. When I call the name of the winning act you’ll come out through the curtain and join me onstage. Afterwards we’ll open the curtains and I want everyone to come out and take a bow. Got it?”
Heads bobbed all around. “Okay, great job. I know there were some rough spots, but remember, in theater a terrible dress rehearsal means a fantastic opening night. So, don’t worry if you flubbed anything tonight. I think tomorrow is going to be amazing. I’ll see you all here tomorrow night at five-thirty. The curtain goes up at seven.”
Everyone began moving, getting ready to leave for the night. Bradley turned to Opal and Mal and shook his head. “I was worried for a second we were going to have to give the show an R rating,” he said, clearly only half joking. “Nice work.”
“Thanks,” Mal said.
“Did your mom use to go to this school?” he asked Opal.
She nodded.
“I think I knew her,” he said.
“Bradley!” someone shouted from the back of the auditorium.
“Sorry, I’ve got to go, he said as he turned and headed to the stairs at the side of the stage.
“Come on, let’s stow our gear and get out of here,” Mal said.
In all her nervousness over the performance Opal had momentarily forgotten about Mr. Jeeter. She glanced out at the auditorium where several teachers were talking. She didn’t see him.
“Where do you think he went?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t know, and that makes me uncomfortable,” Mal admitted.
“Oh good,” she said, unable to control her sarcasm.
She wished she could believe that Tricksters wouldn’t attack them somewhere so public, but after the dance she had no more illusions about that. Still, they had gotten rid of the bodies so they still had to have something invested in keeping the magic world secret.
She saw Bradley leaving the building and his earlier words came back to her about bad dress rehearsals leading to great openings.
“Tonight went perfect for us, though. What does that mean for tomorrow?” she asked under her breath.
Opal barely slept that night and the next day she was jittery, jumping at the least little thing. At school the talent show was what everyone was talking about. It took all she had in her not to tell her friends to stay home because she was worried about what might happen.
When Mal picked her up at home to take her to school Aunt Tanya waved and said she’d be along soon to make sure she got a front row seat. Opal started to beg her to stay away but realized that would
probably just make things worse if she did.
When they parked the car at the school Mal turned to her. “It’s going to be fine,” he said.
“You don’t believe that any more than I do,” she accused.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say that you’ve had a bad feeling all day, that you feel like you can almost hear footsteps following you, but there’s no one there. Say that you know something is going to happen tonight but that you’re ready for it.”
He picked up her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “Something is going to happen tonight, but we are ready for it.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. She kissed him back, feeling a mounting desperation deep inside, like somehow this might be the last time. She could feel tears stinging her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Far too soon it was over. “We need to go inside,” he whispered.
“What if we don’t?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
She met his eyes. “What if we run. You and I. Right now. What if we drive and don’t look back, go somewhere that no one knows us, where magic isn’t all around us. What if we vanish, right now? We could go somewhere that no one would ever find us.”
He brought his hand up and stroked her cheek. “Dear, Opal, there’s nowhere that far,” he said, sounding like his heart was breaking.
“They’re coming for us. You know that, right?”
“I do,” he said, looking pained. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t you die on me,” she said.
He kissed her hand and his finger brushed the ring she was wearing. She wished she could put half of her heart and soul into the opal and give it to him right then. Maybe that was why they had stolen it from her, so she couldn’t do something like that.
“I will always be with you,” Mal breathed. “Whether in this life or the next.”
She started to shake with the effort of holding in her sobs.
“Illuminet cor meum!” he said.
The ring began to glow brightly, bathing them both in its light. “Never forget,” he said to her.
Now You See Me Page 29
