Theater (The Magician – Chapter Fifteen)

This is the fifteenth chapter of the serialization novel I am working on, The Magician – < click here to read the other chapters if you missed them.

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Theater

Thora was able to finally land two box seats to the Saturday night performance of the pathomotus under the name of Alice Rothschild, one of her mother’s young cousins. She gleefully presented them to Vanessa with a promise that the younger cousin would tell her all about it.

Vanessa scowled as she looked at the name on the tickets.

“Did you have to use Alice’s name?”

Thora laughed. 

“Of course I did, silly.  It’s, like, one of the only other cousins I have who is about your age.  Thankfully she’s, like, away on a trip right now that the tabloids haven’t been kept abreast about, so you, like, using her name to slip into the theater will be okay.  I know you didn’t get along with her when you were in school, but it will work out.  I promise.  Just don’t like make a scene when you’re arriving, okay?”

Vanessa nodded.  “Fine.”

“I wish I could go with you,” Thora replied.  “But Mama and I are leaving for a trip to Villa De Oro to, like, surprise her sister on her birthday.”  She winked.  “Just make sure you take someone dashing with you to help if needed.”

Vanessa hugged her cousin tightly, equally giddy that she was going to be able to see another with her brand of magic in action and annoyed at all the subterfuge she had to employ.  She was once again angry at Alexander’s petulance but let the emotions slide.

Doing her research over the next few days, Vanessa quickly realized that the pathomotus Mr. Smith had implored her to see wasn’t the only part of the performance.  Malatesta’s Traveling Show was made of many acts.  The magician was the final piece in the production, she was told.  But she didn’t care. She just wanted to see him in action.

And she of course took Freddy with her.

How can I enjoy this if I can’t hear the music? he signed, frowning his displeasure.

She laughed, her smile big.  She signed back.

It’s a magic show.  There will be all sorts of acts.  I’ll sign for you when needed, I promise, though I am pretty sure there’s some sort of sign language interpreter there.  But most of the show will be visual anyway.  The final piece will be a magician who can cast colors just like the ones I can do.

She cast a few colors to show her happiness and they both giggled.

Oh, he mouthed with a laugh.  

Just as she had done when she went to the Piggy Whistle, Vanessa didn’t tell her family what she was up to.  She had already heard the name Malatesta be said with scorn in the Tamberlane Mansion.  Uncle Ezra and the Rankins also seemed to hold the magician in disdain. She knew intuitively she had to use some machinations to be able to attend.

This time, Vanessa and Freddy took public transit to get where they needed to be.  Though they were smartly dressed, the pair were not as glitzy as they had been when they had gone to the Piggy Whistle.  Though the theater had a dress code, it was not as narrow as the rigorously enforced one at the club.

The theater was glamorous.  The walls were painted a bright golden yellow that seemed to reflect all light.  The seats were made of red velvet plush that seemed to cradle her body as Vanessa sat upon one of them.  The entire experience was mesmerizing.  

She had been to this particular opera house in the past, but after the last season, it had been remodeled and renovated to this state-of-the-art theater.  The carpets were the same lush crimson they had always been, but the seats felt a little more luxurious and comfortable.  The newly painted gilded walls and the updated lights dazzled her.  She could see by just a solitary glance at Freddy that he felt the same way.

The show was spectacular.  There was dazzling aerobatics, several operatic singers with melodious voices and a ventriloquist with a hilarious act.  Freddy even laughed as he watched, for he had been given a tablet that he placed on a stand in front of him and was able to livestream an interpreter of the performance who was somewhere down on the main level.

A master of ceremonies bowed as the curtain dropped after the last act, smiling widely as he got the audience’s attention.  He pushed back the top hat on his head and then adjusted a string of beads around his neck as he waited for everyone to quiet down so he could speak.

“Citizens of Allium, may I have your attention please?  Now comes the moment you’ve all been waiting for.  Your own wonderful city’s homegrown magician, Ignace Godding, will now perform his latest magical masterpiece for you!  Please, give him the courtesy due of one of your own.”

There was rancorous applause as the master of ceremonies darted off the stage.  The curtain rose and the magician walked to the center of the stage, a giant screen behind him.  He bowed to the audience and smiled before stepping back.

Vanessa watched him curiously.  There was something familiar about him, she felt, but she could not place it.  She searched her memory for some sort of connection, but none seemed to come to mind.  She merely blinked, wondering if this man was the reason the magic of the Tamberlane Decree and Constance’s tears had both been invoked in recent weeks.

As the first strains of the orchestra in the pit below the stage began to play, Vanessa leaned forward in her seat, her eyes taking in the colors of the man’s conjuring.  It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.  The brilliant movements and deft changes showed the hours of practice the man had endured.  While he had a similar magic to her own, he had talent that she could never hope to achieve.

Freddy tapped her on the shoulder, frantically getting her attention.

Wow! He’s better than you said he would be.

Vanessa scowled, waving him away.  She did not want to miss a second of this beautiful performance.

She wondered how he could have Nestor’s gift.  He had to be a descendant of her ancestor.  She was as sure of it as she was the power of the magic that ran through her own veins.  But who was this man and how did he fit into her family?  And was he the reason why Malatesta’s name was spoken with such scorn in the households she had grown up in?  She suddenly wished she had pressed for answers and ignored the directives Alexander Tamberlane had put into place when he forbade his family to speak of those who had abandoned the fold.

But the magic in the Tamberlane Decree was powerful.  She knew she couldn’t break it by herself. 

Freddy seemed to understand her desire to just watch, for he sat back in his own chair.  While he could not hear the music that played and could only feel the beat that rumbled through the seats, he was equally mesmerized and dazzled by the colors of the display.  He could almost feel every emotion that went into the scenes the magician had painted.  And he watched the emotion that flowed on Vanessa’s face as she inched to the edge of her seat, drawing closer to the railing so she could glimpse every detail. 

The performance seemed to go on forever and ever.  But soon, like all good things, the songs began to wane as the pictures changed a final time.  As the last scenes filtered through, Vanessa gasped.  She recognized the magic that flowed through the falling leaves of the solitary oak tree as sure as she recognized the emotions that fed the spells.  It was a cry for help.

She began to gather her purse and things from the floor, where they had been discarded and forgotten with the last act.  She grasped Freddy’s arm as the applause rained down around them and the curtains closed.  

Freddy caught the stricken look on her face, even as she tried to hide it.

What’s wrong? he asked, mouthing the words as he signed them.

I need to get backstage.  I need to meet this magician, she signed in return.  

Why? he replied, a confused look on his face.

I think he’s in danger.

Freddy quickly had also begun to gather his own things up.  He threw his coat over his arm and deftly signed back.

Why do you say that?

I saw something in the magic. She saw his look of confusion and added. Trust me.

He nodded.

What can I do to help?

She shrugged as they pressed their way through the crowds that were also leaving.

I need to find a way down to see him. But I don’t know how yet.

They signed not a word as they walked downstairs, holding each other’s hands tightly so as to not get separated in the crush and communicating only by body language and facial expressions.  As they got to the bottom of the marble staircase, Freddy grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the flow and pressing them both up against a wall.  It got her attention.

What did you see in the magic?

Vanessa noticed some suspicious movement out of the corner of her eye.  She glanced to see that two men who appeared to be bodyguards were watching the two of them intently.  She motioned to Freddy with her eyes and put on a happy, giddy face.  He glanced over where she had indicated and back to her, smiling as well.  He gave her a certain sign that was one of their code words and she nodded.  Reverting back to the code they used to use when they were still learning from each other, they continued their conversation.

Vanessa tapped on her fingers quickly, each number of taps signifying a different letter.  This way took much longer than their actual signs, but as of yet, no one could break this code.  She felt safer.  She continued to smile and even laughed as she quickly coded her words.

The lack of colors at the end of the piece.  I think they are a message.  The tree is my family crest.

Tamberlane? Freddy asked, tapping out the name with ease.  I thought so.  The tree is in the picture over the mantle.

Vanessa nodded.

Who is he? Freddy asked.

Vanessa kept the happy smile on her face as she shrugged.  She looked her best friend dead in the face, moving into the light so he could read her lips, and mouthed as slowly and clearly as she could dare.

“I think I want to meet him and see.”

Need me to come? he asked, reverting back to sign since the bodyguards had moved on.

Vanessa shook her head and moved her hands. 

I think I need to do this alone.  I can’t put you in danger.

Careful then, Freddy replied, pulling out his phone.  He opened up his rideshare application and entered his information to send for a car. He then sent her a text.

Call me if you need me.  I can be back as soon as I can, came the message across her watch. 

She nodded and made sure her phone was tucked into her purse.  With a wave, she quickly disappeared back into the depths of the theater, wondering just what kind of a plan she could come up with to meet this man.

Click here to read the next chapter – Independence

 

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Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction written by K. S. Wood, and thus is copyrighted 2024. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.  All rights reserved.

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