"A Wizard's Magic" Chapter 1

Troy Nichols checked the final preparations for the night’s performance, satisfied everything was in place he jumped down from the stage and walked over to the bar.

“Hey Doug, got a cold one back there?”

“I think I can find a chilled brew for you mate.”

Doug Michelson, the bartender at Waikiki Beach’s ‘Sheer Magic Theatre’ pulled a bottle out of the cooler, poured the contents into a chilled glass and slid it down the bar.

Troy smiled as it slowed in front of him.

“Nice pass,” he said then downed half its contents in one long smooth pull.

“Any new illusions set for tonight?” Doug asked him.

“You’ll just have to watch and see.”

“I guess I will, since I have to tend the bar anyway.” Doug shrugged off the answer pretending not to be interested but the truth was he’d been impressed by this illusionist from his first show.

Troy Nichols had become a local celebrity in Honolulu but you’d never know it by his demeanor. He was easy going and didn’t flaunt his fame, even though he had an extraordinary talent, a very extraordinary talent.

Doug wouldn’t be admitting it to anyone, but Troy’s talent bordered on pure magic and he’d been as awed as a five year old watching his magic shows. The man defied natural law. He did things on that stage that were absolutely impossible to explain and, damn the man, he never would explain them.

 “Want another?” “Doug asked when Troy slid the empty glass back to him.

“No, I’d better not. I wouldn’t want to lose my timing. It could be detrimental in my line of work.”

“Yeah, I’m sure of that,” Doug agreed with a nod and then against his better judgment asked, “How the hell did you jump through that ring of fire and end up on the balcony? I’m not even sure that was physically possible…not even with a trick in place. It was barely five seconds before you reappeared.”

“Now Doug, you know I can’t divulge my secrets, but thanks for the compliment. I’m glad the trick had you spellbound, as it should,” Troy said in his best magician’s voice and nearly laughed out loud at Doug’s annoyed expression.

“Yeah right,” Doug mumbled sourly.

“Well, I’d better get ready for tonight’s show. Thanks again for the beer.”

Troy was about to walk backstage when Doug called out another question.

“Do you have a twin?”

Troy laughed, “I have an alter ego but I can’t make him materialize,” he said as he stepped backstage and Doug’s colorful response was lost in the sound of the stagehands moving props but he was sure it had been richly worded.

 

The stagehands and grips were busy preparing the set props and lighting for the show and Troy nodded to them as he passed. Some stopped working to stare at him.

Al the lighting director called out to him from the top of a ladder. “Hey, Troy, great show last night.”

“Thanks, glad you enjoyed it,” Troy said flashing a grateful smile. The crew’s belief in his magic was inspiring.

“You’ve got one helluva gift,” Sam, the theatre’s Master Electrician, said with more than a little awe in his tone.

Troy’s grin widened. “Hey, if I impressed you then it must be.”

 “You got that right,” Sam wholeheartedly agreed with him, “I’ve seen lots of magic shows in my day, gripped for a few too and saw all the angles, knew all the tricks, but yours…” he scratched his head and admitted, “it stumps me every night.”

“Then I guess I’m doing it right.” Troy laughed when Sam and all of the stagehands agreed in unison with him. He smiled and added sincerely, “Thank you, you’re my best audience.”

The men turned back to their respective jobs and Troy walked away feeling flattered by their approval but not completely happy.

His magic was a gift and he’d always be grateful for it but lately, even with all the success it had brought him, he’d been feeling a nagging and very uncharacteristic dissatisfaction with his life, and he didn’t understand where it was coming from.

He was so focused on his disquieting thoughts when he turned towards the dressing rooms he nearly collided with his sister, Leila and it appeared she’d been waiting for him.

“Troy! Where have you been?”

 “I stopped and had a beer at the bar, why what’s wrong?”

“They delivered the wrong costumes. Have you seen them?”

“No, but if there’s a problem with them I’ll call and-.”

“Not that simple Troy. I called the costumer in New York and he said he’d sent us the costumes you’d ordered. They’re in your room,” she turned and walked to his dressing room making sure he followed her.

Troy had no idea what she was going on about but when she opened the door, he immediately understood. He stared in disbelief at the three robes hanging on his closet door. These were definitely not the robes he’d ordered.

They weren’t magician’s robes at all, they were ceremonial robes but…how did he even know that? Had he seen these robes before? He felt like he had….some vague childhood memory popped into his thoughts.

He couldn’t have been more than four or five sitting on his father’s lap as his father read  to him from a large book, and these robes were in that book. There was some ancient lore attached to them too, but he couldn’t remember anything about that and he couldn’t remember if it was a history book, or a child’s fairy tale that his father had read from that day.  All he had was a quick glimmer, a snapshot moment of a long forgotten memory; there were no before or after images that came to him…still…he was certain these robes had been in that book.

“So do you remember ordering these?” Leila asked with curiosity.

“No,” Troy shook his head still bewildered by them and he suddenly had a focused image of the main robe in that book. It had been a spectacular blue robe with odd silver symbols that ran down the front of it and they’d sparkled with a shimmering blue light…and that robe and those symbols were exactly like the symbols on the royal blue robe hanging in front of him right now.

“Well, if you didn’t order these where did they come from?” Leila prompted from behind him.

 “I don’t know,” Troy shook his head and admitted, “I’ve never even seen them in the catalogue.”

“I know that and I told the costumer exactly that and do you know what he said?”

“What did he say?”

“He said to try them on and we’d see they were exactly what we’d ordered, and then he laughed and hung up. Don’t you find that strange?”

Troy found it very strange but he didn’t say that to his sister instead he shrugged it off.

“Don’t worry Leila. I’ll call him back and get it straightened out.”

“You do that,” she said walking out into the hall but turned back to stress her point, “And then you tell him to stop playing mind games. I didn’t appreciate it. And the next time—No, don’t touch that!”  She wasn’t done with her ultimatum but she’d caught sight of a stagehand moving one of the props incorrectly and raced off to reprimand him.

Troy chuckled at his sister’s perfectionism but only slightly because he really did value it. Leila made sure every detail was perfect for their performances and he couldn’t have effortlessly pulled off the magical deception of his shows without her.

“Thanks Leila,” he said to her retreating figure before closing his dressing room door and turning back to the three strange robes.

They emitted an electrical vibe as he stepped closer and he wondered what circumstances had brought them here, and for what purpose? He knew it was not by accident; he believed nothing was ever by accident.

“So what are you doing here?” he whispered.

His answer came from the main garment in the form of a glowing cerulean blue light.

*                                              *                                              *

Serena Michaels swirled her orange juice in her glass as she stared off into the blue of the Pacific. The soft waves lapped against the small speedboat lulling her into complete relaxation as she lounged back against the boat’s cushions.

“Have you ever considered that we just might have been here before?” she asked her companion soulfully.

“No. I’m sure I would have remembered it,” David Sinclair laughed and his crystal blue eyes ­­­­sparkled with humor as he poured champagne into her glass of orange juice and he concluded with a smile, “even in my most inebriated state.”

“David, I’m serious. I feel drawn to this place but not in a new adventurous way…it’s as if I’ve lived here before. It feels like coming home after a long journey,” she whispered, nodding with amazement at the accuracy of those words.

David leaned closer, a shock of his blond, sun kissed hair fell over his forehead rakishly. “Like déjà vu?” he asked her softly and when she nodded he tipped her glass up to her lips, “Drink up love; I’m sure the odd feeling will subside.”

“You don’t understand,” Serena said disappointed in his lack of romanticism but before she could elaborate further a familiar blue and silver speedboat raced past rocking their craft dangerously. The crystal champagne flutes were relegated to the deep blue and Serena grabbed a handful of David’s shirt as he teetered precariously close to the edge trying to save the half full bottle of champagne.

“Damn you Matt!” David yelled at the vanishing craft as he steadied himself.

“David let it go,” Serena begged but knew he wasn’t listening. The challenge was on and she was in for a tumultuous ride.

David reached the controls of their boat in seconds and immediately let it rip with speed in an all out attempt to catch his nemesis. He maneuvered the small craft through the choppy waters gaining speed with each second.

Serena hunkered down into the cushions of the boat gripping the sides tighter and closed her eyes to avoid watching the choppy waters while praying she wouldn’t toss up her breakfast.

David wasn’t going to stop until he caught up with Matt, their friend and the driver of the other boat. No matter how much Serena wished he would consider her feelings, at this moment, she knew he wouldn’t, but she should have expected it.

They weren’t alone on this Hawaiian Vacation; they were here with six other friends. A well deserved break after four grueling years of college and they’d all agreed that two lovely, languid weeks in Hawaii would be perfect for all of them. It was to be their final, carefree summer together before starting their hopefully, illustrious new careers.

Of course Serena wanted to spend time with her friends but she’d also wanted this one languid afternoon to spend alone with David.

She and David had been good friends from the start of college and had grown closer during the harried last year, cramming for tests and partying with their mutual friends.

That closeness, especially in the last month had sparked some feelings that might be more than friendship, but she wasn’t as sure, at least not as David was about acting on those feelings.

He was a great guy, no argument there. Problem was, with always having the group around them they’d been insulated from discovering what they’d be like together, on their own. Fool that she was she thought this vacation would show her that. She should have realized that was impossible with six others along for the adventure, and the reality of that statement was at this very moment hitting her in the face, along with the ocean spray.

That cold ocean spray also ended her reflective thoughts reminding her to pay closer attention if she wanted to remain in the boat.

David raced with sheer determination and with no thought for the precarious position of his passenger. He was a skilled boatman and had no problem gaining on Matt’s smaller boat but he didn’t even consider how Serena’s stomach might handle the boat’s swift movements.

Matt’s boat was just ahead and David smiled with victory as he closed the distance and when he was abreast of it, he couldn’t help fishtailing next to the smaller boat making it react to the motion of his more powerful craft. 

“How do you like that Mattie boy?”  He asked before pushing the engine to an even more powerful response and leaving Matt’s boat bobbing in the churning waters behind him as he sped away.

David’s laugh was nearly maniacal as he felt the rush of revenge and winning pulse through him but with the thrill of the chase over, he finally gave a thought to Serena.

“Sorry about the rough ride ‘Rena,” he yelled over the wind as he eased back on the throttle slowing the boat to a calmer speed before glancing back at her.

Serena was green with seasickness.

“Oh no, hold on ‘Rena!” David cut the engine and rushed to her just in time to lift her up so she could be sick over the side of the boat. After that, she went limp in his arms.

David brushed the wayward strands of golden brown hair away from her face and whispered, “I’ll have you on dry land in no time Rena.”

“No,” her green eyes fluttered open as she protested weakly, “Please, don’t rush.”

He laughed softly, “I promise, I’ll take it easy,” he kissed her forehead and laid her carefully down onto the cushions of the boat.

 

David tossed the keys to the boat rental attendant as Serena swayed against him. She was still too seasick to stand on her own so David lifted her into his arms and carried her across the dock and out to the parking area.

“We’ll be back at the hotel in fifteen minutes. You’ll have plenty of time to rest before tonight’s dinner and show.”

Serena groaned burying her head in his shoulder, not sure she’d be up to going anywhere or eating anything and fervently wishing she could stay in, but she already knew that wasn’t going to be a possibility.

Everyone had been looking forward to going to this Magic Show their friend Jane had bought them all tickets for. It was a show called ‘Reality Suspended’. The local critics had written accolades about how magically talented the illusionist was and Serena knew there was no chance her friends would let her miss it.

 *                                             *                                                                      *

Troy adjusted the new robe over his shoulders and felt raw power sizzle through him.

He’d been as bewildered as Leila by the costumer’s insistence that he’d ordered these robes but once he felt the weight of the robe on his shoulders, he felt the rightness of it. He knew it had been fated he wear it tonight.

Leila hadn’t been too happy to accommodate him in wearing her new robe when he’d asked her earlier. She’d shaken her head adamantly and told him, “I don’t like violet. It isn’t my color. It clashes with my grey blue eyes; I’ll wear my old robe, thank you.”

“Trust me; it will be beautiful on you Leila you’ll see. It’ll work, please,” he’d complimented her and she’d reluctantly agreed to wear it. She took the violet robe and the emerald green robe for the audience participant with her but she’d still grumbled as she left his dressing room, “I’ll wear it tonight only, because I know they’re all going back tomorrow.”

Troy chuckled at the memory as he checked the new robe’s fit in the mirror.

Suddenly, the silver symbols woven into the front of the robe began shimmering softly and his smile faded. He cautiously moved his hands over the symbols and a primal knowledge of their meanings whispered through his thoughts, too illusive to discern but a disturbance in the very air around him called to his soul; he quickly lifted his hands away from the robe. The whispering stopped and the atmosphere calmed but it had imparted one fact before it did.

Tonight, he would have all the power he desired and his performance would do more than suspend reality, it would magically obliterate it.

*