He reached into the top hat, swirled his hand around momentarily, and pulled out a small, white rabbit.
“Where did the rabbit come from, is probably the question you’re asking yourself right now,” said Golden Joab. “A better question would be…”
He reached into the hat.
“…Where did the other rabbit come from?”
He pulled out another rabbit and lifted his eyebrows in triumph.
10 for the trick. 0 for originality.
“There must be something special about this hat, huh?” asked Golden Joab. “Perhaps I should… take a look inside, and see what it is?”
He grinned at the crowd and then leaned forward, lowering his head and most of his shoulders into the oversized hat. Malcolm expected him to pull something else out, but instead, he sank deeper into it, his feet disappearing past the brim as he moved fully out of sight of the crowd.
A couple of seconds went by. People started muttering in the audience. The door in the back of the theater opened, and the spotlight panned to illuminate the new arrival. Golden Joab pumped his fist in the air in triumph, and then bowed to the crowd.
“That was quite the trick,” whispered Tapestry.
Malcolm nodded slowly.
“I can’t help but feel that something seems off about this,” he said. “If he was really gifted, all of his tricks would have that same level of mystery to them.”
Golden Joab made his way back to the stage amid thunderous applause. He basked in it, grinning at the crowd and nodding. Finally, the theater quieted and the show continued.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Golden Joab. “You’re thinking, Joab, you just have an identical twin who also has a passion for magic! Well… that’s where you’re wrong. And to prove it, I’m going to make one of you… disappear!”
He gestured, throwing both hands to the side.
“I’ll need a volunteer, of course.”
At least a hundred hands shot up into the air instantly. Malcolm elbowed Tapestry until she sighed and put her hand up.
It’s worth a shot. If he does pick her, we might be able to do this easily.
“How about… you?” Golden Joab pointed to someone on the side of the crowd. “No, no, not you. Her.”
He pointed again, gesturing to a specific woman who stood up and looked around in surprise. The crowd cheered as the woman walked down the aisle. She was pretty, with Asiatic features and a surprisingly heavy amount of makeup. Malcolm frowned, a sudden thought taking hold in his head.
“If Golden Joab isn’t gifted,” he whispered. “Then he might have someone helping him, either backstage, or in the crowd.”
Tapestry raised an eyebrow.
“And you think that woman…?”
Malcolm examined her more closely.
“She’s wearing long sleeves, and a lot of makeup,” he said. “Contacts to change her eye color to go with it. It wouldn’t be that hard to make a spryte appear human.”
“How sure are you?” asked Tapestry.
“Not at all,” he said. “But it’s a… possibility.”
His mouth fell open as he looked back up at the stage. Golden Joab was in the middle of explaining the details of the trick, and the woman was standing next to him, looking attentive. Behind him, however, two familiar faces were walking out from backstage.
“Behind you!” shouted Malcolm. Golden Joab didn’t react in time, and Fantasy, clad in a pink t-shirt and yoga pants, managed to get an arm around his neck.
Rose pointed at the other woman and said something. The crowd burst into murmured conversation, nobody having any real sense of what was going on. Tapestry and Malcolm were already moving, pushing past the people seated next to them and then charging up the main aisle. Malcolm let his illusionary disguises drop, not needing them anymore.
“Show’s over, folks,” said Fantasy. “You can all go home now.”
When nobody moved, she sighed and waved a hand through the air. A massive dragon burst into existence in the auditorium, scaring the wits out of the crowd, which retreated in a massive wave of people.
Malcolm and Tapestry pulled themselves up on stage. Fantasy whirled to face them, still holding Golden Joab around the neck, now with a gun in one hand.
CHAPTER 24
For a few moments, nobody on stage did anything. The crowd was still in the process of filing out of the auditorium, and all six participants in the standoff were content to eye each other warily. As soon as most of the audience was gone, Malcolm made the first move, stepping forward and jabbing a finger at Fantasy.
“Let him go,” he said. “This is ridiculous. He’s just a magician.”
“He might be,” said Fantasy. “But… we’re acting on information related to her. The anonymous crowd member, more commonly known in the monster scene as Jade Portal.”
“Jade…” said Golden Joab, clearing his throat nervously. “Do you mind… getting me out of here?”
The woman, who was apparently a spryte, looked from person to person, trying to judge if she was about to be attacked. She closed her eyes for a split second and a green portal appeared in front of her.
It looked like someone had taken a bright green light and used it to illuminate water from underneath. The surface of the portal wavered, making a slight, humming noise. It had no thickness, and as Malcolm took a step to observe it from the side, it disappeared from his point of view.
“Jade!” shouted Golden Joab. Jade dove through her portal, disappearing from the stage. Rose tried to follow after her, but the portal disappeared a second after Jade had gone through it. She frowned, bringing her hand to her mouth and looking thoughtful.
“Well,” said Rose. “This could be interesting.”
“We have her boyfriend,” said Fantasy. “We can just threaten him until he cooperates.”
“Have you forgotten about us already?” asked Malcolm. “We aren’t going to let you touch a hair on that man’s head.”
Fantasy made a show of plucking one of Golden Joab’s hairs free from his man bun.
“I don’t think he… meant that literally,” said Golden Joab. “Just that, you know… you probably shouldn’t kill me. Please?”
Tapestry had her gun pointed at Fantasy’s head. Malcolm was reasonably sure that she would have taken the shot, if not for Fantasy having a gun herself.
“We’re just here to speak with the spryte,” said Rose. “Jade Portal, just come out and talk with us for a bit? We have an offer to make, and we’d like you to hear us out.”
“The two of you certainly have an interesting way of presenting your offer,” said Malcolm. “Remind me to never open my door if you show up selling something.”
Rose’s lips turned up into a small smile, which she quickly suppressed. She was in jeans and a brown leather jacket. Malcolm wasn’t sure if she had a gun on her, like Fantasy, but then again, she didn’t really need one, with her powers.
“Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I’ll keep an eye on Golden Joab and the kidnapper. You go after that one.”
“Uh…” He shrugged. “Sure thing.”
Rose had an amused expression on her face as Malcolm turned to face her. There was enough room on the stage for them to circle around each other without getting in the way of the hostage situation. Rose licked her lips and waved a hand at him.
“Well,” she said. “Are you going to attack me?”
“Ladies first,” said Malcolm. “Come on. Show me what you got.”
The smile on Rose’s face wasn’t exactly reassuring, but Malcolm still found himself getting a little excited as he watched her. They’d fought before, and she’d made it clear that she could beat him in a battle if it came down to the pure strength of her powers.