Neil Patrick Harris - The Magic Misfits 2

PING! As if from nowhere, a large coin fell out of the air. It bounced twice on the table, rolled on its side in a circle, and fell over.

“Dad, did you do that?” Leila called upstairs, but Mr Vernon was nowhere to be seen.

Ridley picked up the coin and surveyed it. Theo and the others peered over her shoulders.

“It’s letters A through to Z ,” Olly noted.

“And then back again,” Izzy added, “ z through to a .”

“It’s a cipher ,” Ridley whispered.

“A what?” Carter asked.

“A code, a secret way of writing,” Ridley answered. “See, if I wrote CAT using this cipher, it would become XZG . And DOG would become WLT .”

“Awesome,” Leila said.

A shadow appeared outside the window of the shop. “More customers,” Carter said. Wanting to keep their discovery secret, Ridley dropped the coin into the secret compartment of her wheelchair arm.

The bell chimed as the front door opened again. Leila’s heart soared as she imagined that the couple had changed their minds and returned. But a new voice called out instead. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

Who was at the shop door? Well, I’d rather not say. You can skip to the next chapter to find out, or you could stay and learn some magic of your own!

Oh, you decided to stay? It really is wonderful to see you again. I adore working with committed students. Have you been practising the tricks I showed you in the first book? If so, by the end of The Second Story, you might have enough tricks to put on an entire show.

WHAT YOU NEED:

A regular deck of playing cards

HELPFUL HINT (WHERE TO STAND):

For this illusion, you’ll want to position yourself close to your audience so that they are looking down at the cards in your hands.

STEPS:

1.Holding the deck in one hand, use your other hand to show your audience a random card. Ask them to tell you what card it is.

2.While they are telling you about the card, slide your pinky finger between the top card and the rest of the deck so there is a small gap.

3.Place the first card faceup onto the deck, aligning it with the raised card. You should now be holding two cards slightly above the rest of the deck.

4.Using the middle finger and thumb of your free hand, grab the corners of the top two cards and move them away from the deck, holding them so that they bend a bit.

(Hint: Both cards should align so that it looks like you’re holding only that first top card.)

5.Move your hand back and forth, so the image on the card begins to blur for the audience. Show the audience your card. Have one of them call out what it is. Now, move your hand back and forth.

6.While shaking the cards, use your pointer finger to reach for the far corner of the cards and then pull that corner toward you so the two cards flip.

(Hint: Your middle finger and thumb will be the points where the cards rotate.)

7.Slowly stop shaking the cards and reveal that the card has changed.

8.Take a bow!

A woman stood by the counter.

“Sorry!” Leila said breathlessly to the stranger. She spouted her usual spiel: “Welcome to Vernon’s Magic Shop, where we purvey the impossible ! Can I help you find anything?”

“Hello,” said the woman. “I sure hope you can.” She was medium height with dusky golden skin and wavy dark hair that cascaded like waterfall mist past her shoulders. Deep brown eyes stared into Leila’s own.

Leila was captivated. Her fingers trembled. Her mouth went dry. She blinked as if her brain could take a picture. The woman’s lashes were long and thick, blackened heavily with mascara. Lips as red as gems were pursed in a tiny blossom below her long nose. She wore a long purple shawl covered in yellow fringe draped over her shoulders, with a gauzy lilac scarf tied around her waist. The image of a crystal ball was embroidered on her large purse. Most spectacular of all were the enormous white stars hanging from her ears. She looked like she belonged there, like a prop in the magic shop’s window.

“We have everything a magician might need,” Leila said, her voice cracking.

“I’m looking for someone,” said the woman, her eyes flicking around the store. “A very old friend of mine. His name is Dante. Dante Vernon . His last name’s on the door.”

“That’s because he owns this place,” said Carter, stepping forward. “He’s my cousin, and he’s Leila’s—”

“Hold on,” Ridley said abruptly, wheeling past Carter and Leila to block the woman’s path. “Before we share anything else, maybe you can tell us who you are first? We’ve had some trouble around here lately.”

“Trouble?” the woman remarked with wide eyes, clutching her shawl to her chest. “How horrible!”