by Michael Dahl
“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 asked. He was in a ratty old bathrobe. 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.”
“Of course I was,” Mr. M. said. “Every magician in the city was there.”
“Did you see the trick?” Charlie asked.
“Theopolis’s trick?” Madagascar asked. 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 her throat behind the boys, and Charlie spun around.
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, nothing 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 again.
Charlie leaned against the front counter 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 asked. “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 asked.
“Try ten times,” Brack said. He chuckled, and then sighed. “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.
There’s no point, Charlie thought. I might as well stay in bed and watch TV all day.
But that evening, the phone rang at Charlie’s house. It was Ty.
“Why aren’t you here?” Ty asked.
“Why should I be?” Charlie said. “It’s over. Theopolis won. Even Brack can’t figure it out.”
“Don’t be such a wuss,” Ty said. “Besides, I have figured it out.”
Charlie sat up and pushed the blanket to the floor. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“It was something Brack said the other night, right before you left,” Ty said. “‘Four magicians rolled into one.’”
Charlie scratched his head. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“I’ll explain when you get down here,” Ty said, and he hung up.
* * *
Charlie was dressed and heading for the hotel in no time flat. If Ty was right, there was only a little time left to solve the mystery and stop Theopolis from ruining Brack’s farewell show — and taking the hotel. He ran the whole way.
At the Abracadabra, the lobby was totally packed, just like it had been a week before.
Then he realized that many of the magicians were in costume, as if they were going to perform. He spotted Mr. Thursday, in his finest tuxedo. He was hauling his case of juggling objects.
And there, by the big window along the front wall, were Mr. Madagascar and Dotty. Mr. M. was in fancy robes, ready to put on a show. Dotty was in her old-time magician’s assistant outfit: a leotard and high-heeled shoes.
Over by the box office, Charlie saw Theopolis. As usual, a group of hangers-on and reporters surrounded him. Among them was Ty.
Charlie hurried over. “What are you doing?” he hissed, tugging on Ty’s maroon jacket sleeve.
Ty shushed him. Then he raised his hand and called out, “Mr. Theopolis, sir?”
The crowd hushed. Ty’s voice was loud enough to be heard over all the reporters.
“Who said that?” Theopolis said, looking around. “Oh,” he said when he spotted Ty. “What do you want?”
“Well, sir,” Ty said. Charlie could tell he was doing his best not to smile. “You’re all dressed for a show tonight,” Ty went on. “But you’re not on the marquee outside the hotel. Mr. Abracadabra is.”
“If your old friend Brack hasn’t shown the illusion in my performance at his party by now,” Theopolis said, “I don’t think he will in the next thirty minutes.”
“I think I see what you’re getting at,” Charlie whispered to Ty. Then he said out loud to Theopolis, “Will you share the stage with any other performers?”
“Of course,” said Theopolis haughtily. “I never perform alone. Other magicians are helpful for getting the crowd warmed up.”
He smiled hugely and looked out over the faces of reporters nearby. “Of course,” he added, “since I’m the greatest magician to ever live, they can’t help but pale in comparison to me. They agree to join me because they know I can lift them to greatness.” The press laughed and cheered. Theopolis’s assistants clapped and threw flower petals over him.
But not everyone was cheering. Charlie looked for Mr. Madagascar. The levitationist’s face was bent in an angry scowl, and his arms were crossed over his chest.
Mr. Thursday was standing there too. He held a bowling pin in one hand and slapped it into his other hand over and over.
“If looks could kill, huh?” Ty said, nodding toward Mr. Thursday.
Charlie sighed. Dotty Drake was between the two men, with her hands on her hips. She shifted and glared at Theopolis as the press cheered for him.
“We better find Brack,” Charlie said. “He only has a few minutes to win this bet.”
“And I know how he can do it,” Ty added.
“I had a hunch we’d find you here,” Ty called as he and Charlie stepped off the elevator.
Brack stood up from his spot beneath a tree on the Abracadabra’s roof. “How did you two get up here?” he said, but he didn’t seem angry.
Ty held up his key ring. “Turns out Rocky had the extra key,” he said.
“Of course not,” Charlie said. “But we have to hurry and get downstairs before the show starts.”
“Right,” said Ty. “You’ve got to get on that stage and announce that you’ve won the bet.”
“I haven’t,” Brack said sadly. “I’m sorry, boys. I don’t know how he did it.”
“We do,” Ty said.
“We’ll explain everything on the way down,” said Charlie.
* * *
The theater was packed. Every seat was full, and some people were even standing up behind the back rows, even way up in the balcony.
When Brack stepped into the theater with Charlie and Ty, he practically bumped into Theopolis. The demonic magician in his black robe stood near the doors with his assistants. He was waiting, it seemed, for the wager deadline to arrive.
“Brack,” he said through a toothy grin. “How noble of you to come down to the theater, despite your failure.”
Brack put out his hand to shake and Theopolis accepted.
The crowd grew silent. Charlie could feel the people around him straining to hear the conversation between the two great illusionists.
“You are a wise man,” Theopolis said. “You have lost with grace. And since you’re here, you’ve saved me the considerable trouble of sending security to remove you from my new rooftop estate.”
Brack smiled, and then he continued his walk down the aisle toward the stage. Charlie and Ty hurried after him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Theopolis hollered after them. “You won’t be taking that stage tonight, nor ever again!”
Brack did not stop. He took the steps up the stage. Theopolis tried to follow, but Charlie and Ty stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“Out of my way, children,” Theopolis said. “This theater belongs to me. I shall have you thrown out!” He thrust his finger in the air as he spoke.
“It’s not yours yet,” said Charlie. He checked his watch. “Brack has ten minutes.”
Ty smirked. “Why don’t you take a seat?” he said. “I’m sure Brack would be happy to give you his box seat in the front.”
“Yeah. He won’t need it!” Charlie said.
The boys laughed and Theopolis steamed.
A stagehand hurried to push out a lectern. There was some hurried chatter in the wings and in the catwalk, and a spotlight thumped on.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Brack said, “and children of all ages. I have a couple of announcements.”
The crowd went silent.
“First of all, the performance tonight will not be as scheduled,” Brack said.
Theopolis smiled. “A concession speech,” he said. He smirked at Charlie and Ty. “Such class.”
“It will in fact begin a few minutes late,” Brack went on. “I haven’t dressed yet, as you can see.”
“What?” Theopolis snapped.
“And the second announcement,” Brack said, “I only have a few minutes to complete. I shall now reveal how Theopolis performed his levitation trick — yes, trick, not magic — at my party last weekend.”
Theopolis gasped. “Impossible!” he said. “Get down from that stage at once!”
Ty and Charlie held Theopolis’s arms to stop him from rushing the stage.
“I would like some assistance, however,” Brack said. “I will ask three excellent performers to join me onstage. I think they’re here in the theater.”
The crowd of magicians began to chatter. It could be any three of them, they hoped.
“Expert juggler, Mr. Thursday,” Brack said. Mr. Thursday stood up in the back row and the crowd applauded slightly.
“Mr. Madagascar,” Brack said, “the brilliant levitator and illusionist!”
Mr. Madagascar, who was seated along the wall near the front, stood up. The crowd applauded, a little louder, and he waved.
“And finally,” Brack said, “Dotty Drake, one of the finest magician’s assistants to ever grace this theater in its heyday.”
Dotty jumped to her feet. She was sitting on the aisle quite close to the stage. The crowd went wild with applause.
The three performers, all dressed in their finest show clothes, climbed the stage and joined Brack at the lectern.
“Theopolis would like us to believe that he is the greatest magician of all time,” Brack said. “He’d like us to believe that he can do alone what most of us need help to do.”
Theopolis backed away from the stage a little.
“This is a shame,” Brack went on, “because Theopolis is a fine illusionist, and a true master of modern magic.” Brack smiled and shrugged shyly. “I admit, most of his special effects go right over my old head,” he added. The audience chuckled.
“But when he needed help in his schemes,” Brack said, his face going serious, “he knew he’d need help from these three.”
The other three performers on stage took a bow.
“Thursday here was the juggler we all saw over the pool,” Brack explained. “He dressed in a robe just like Theopolis’s, and the two switched places.”
“It was easy in the crowd and the smoke,” Charlie said, glaring at Theopolis.
“Of course,” Brack went on, “Thursday wasn’t actually over the pool. He was hidden away, with Madagascar and Theopolis.”
Madagascar looked at his feet.
“It was Madagascar’s mirrors that made Thursday appear to be levitating,” Brack said. “And it was Theopolis’s projector that made Thursday appear to be over the pool.”
“The smoke again,” Charlie said. “It was thick and white enough to act as a screen.”
“And Dotty,” Brack said, “the assistant, simply made sure everything went off without a hitch. She operated the smoke machine, very likely, and aimed the projector.”
Dotty nodded.
When Brack’s explanation was complete, the crowd cheered.
“Your applause should be directed toward these four performers,” Brack said. “Not me.” He waved at Theopolis, calling him onstage. “It was a wonderful illusion,” Brack said gently.
Theopolis slowly joined the others in the center of the stage.
“And now, our show can begin,” Brack said. “I will go backstage and prepare, and these four will be… my opening act.”
He winked at Theopolis and disappeared into the wings.
To open, Theopolis and the others performed a repeat of the trick from the party, without the pool.
No one was very impressed this time, but all of the magicians clapped hard to cheer for Mr. Thursday, Mr. Madagascar, and Dotty Drake.
By the time they were done, Brack — now fully Abracadabra — was dressed.
He stepped onto the stage. The stage lights went black, and the spotlight thumped on again and shined on the greatest magician in history.
Abracadabra then performed an illusion so great, so brilliant, and so completely unexplainable, that the finest minds in the world are still trying to figure out just how he did it.
Of course, Charlie knows.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MICHAEL DAHL grew up reading everything he could find about his hero Harry Houdini, and worked as a magician’s assistant when he was a teenager. Even though he cannot disappear, he is very good at escaping things. Dahl has written the popular Library of Doom series, the Dragonblood books, and the Finnegan Zwake series. He currently lives in the Midwest in a haunted house.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
LISA K. WEBER is an illustrator currently living in Oakland, California. She graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2000 and then began freelancing. Since then, she has completed many print, animation, and design projects, including graphic novelizations of classic literature, character and background
designs for children’s cartoons, and textiles for dog clothing.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Explain Theopolis’s trick. How did he do it?
Have you seen a magic show? Talk about some of the tricks you saw.
Would you want to stay at the Abracadabra Hotel? Why or why not?
WRITING PROMPTS
Try writing one of the chapters in this book from Brack’s point of view. How does the story change? What does Brack see, hear, think, and feel?
Create your own magic trick. What is it? How does it work?
Theopolis relies on help from other magicians to do his magic trick. Write about a time you needed help from someone else to do something.
GLOSSARY
challenge (CHAL-uhnj) — to invite a person to try to do something, or to fight
concession (kuhn-SESH-uhn) — in a concession speech, someone admits that his or her opponent has won
duplicate (DOO-pluh-kate) — copy
engulfed (in-GUHLFD) — surrounded
illusion (i-LOO-zhuhn) — something that appears to exist or happen but does not
levitation (lev-i-TAY-shuhn) — the act of rising in the air and floating
monetary (MON-uh-tair-ee) — having to do with money
resident (REZ-uh-duhnt) — a person who lives in a particular place
retire (ri-TIRE) — stop working
stagehand (STAYJ-hand) — a person who works behind the scenes in a theater
THE CRAZY COMICAL SOCK
The best way to warm up an audience is to get them laughing. With this trick, the audience gets a good laugh when you find something you didn’t even know was lost!
You Need:
Two identical socks
A piece of black cloth
A black hat
Four safety pins
