The Third Movement Read online

  Eventually, the mayor approached the microphone again and announced the act that Theo was dreading. “I would like to welcome some recent local heroes, the self-proclaimed Magic Misfits! I wonder what they’re going to save us from this evening.” He chuckled.

  The crowd laughed and then applauded loudly as five kids took the stage. Theo, the missing sixth, slumped down, hoping none of them would look out and see him with his family.

  His friends were dressed in their finest. Carter had on a black suit with tails and a shiny top hat. Leila wore sparkly black pants and a loosened straitjacket. Ridley looked smashing in an emerald-green number embellished with glittering fringe. And the twins wore matching plaid rompers, straw boat hats, leather wing tips, and black socks pulled up over their knees. Most impressive, however, was what the animal assistants were wearing. Top Hat was dressed in a tiny black top hat strapped between his ears. He sat in Ridley’s lap. Hanging from Presto’s feathered neck was a sparkly pendant that looked like a replica of the Star of Africa, the diamond that Bosso had attempted to steal. She perched on Leila’s shoulder. Change-O had on a bright red bow tie that was attached to his harness and leash, which Carter clutched tightly.

  Ridley took the microphone from the mayor and waved to the crowd. “We’re so happy to be here, friends!” she called out. “We plan on continuing to perform for the people of Mineral Wells for years to come!”

  Theo’s skin crawled. He was unsure whether she had meant to hurl that statement at him… or at Kalagan. He looked around again, certain that the mesmerist was hiding among the townspeople. But he observed only the smiling faces of the audience, anticipating magical delights from the young performers on stage.

  To Theo’s horror, their act faltered from the very start. During a simple card-toss trick, Carter managed to drop several from the deck. He flushed red, apologized quietly, then went on, pretending to offer Change-O the next choice of cards. But then Change-O attempted to run off stage, and Carter nearly tripped trying to catch him. Ridley wheeled her chair over the monkey’s leash, and he screeched and scowled.

  Theo thought back to their rehearsals—he was supposed to have handed the pack to Carter from his pocket. Could this mistake have been Theo’s fault?

  The audience laughed anyway, thankfully thinking that it was all part of the fun. Next, Ridley held up Top Hat to show the crowd. The twins raised a large cloth in front of the rabbit, but they whipped it away before Ridley could switch out his top hat for a tiny Easter bonnet. Both hats fell off Ridley’s lap. The rabbit leapt down, and Leila had to scoop everything up and return it all to Ridley, who was so embarrassed she did not bother trying the trick again.

  This time, it was obvious that a mistake had been made, and the audience began to murmur. Again, this had been a trick that Theo was meant to be a part of, and he was certain that the twins’ error was because he had left them in the lurch.

  “They’re not very good, are they?” Gio whispered to Cleo.

  Theo refrained from telling them it was because he had chosen his family over his friends. “We are usually much better,” he said. “There was not much time to practice.”

  The twins managed to get through a comedic routine with their pet mice with no mess-ups, but it did little to win over the crowd again.

  People were beginning to look bored. Near the far side of the park, a group began to boo. Theo glanced over and saw the boys who had bullied them a few weeks prior. The one who had thrown mud at him, Tyler, was the loudest.

  Then he saw Emily run over, hands on her hips. Tyler and his cronies sat back down again.

  Theo needed to do something too. The Magic Misfits did not deserve this ridicule. He felt himself stand up, his violin and bow in hand. Leo called out, “Where are you going, little brother?” But Theo simply stepped around the couple sitting in front of him and made his way to the stage.

  His friends glanced down at him as he climbed the steps. “What are you doing here?” Ridley snapped. “You can’t perform twice.”

  He recalled what Mr. Vernon had told them. “I’m being your out. Let me help with the finale.” He looked for Emily on the edge of the crowd. Catching his gaze, she shook her head. But he did not care. He never should have left the Misfits.

  “We’ll be disqualified, Theo,” said Leila.

  “Who cares?” Carter answered. “We’re not going to win at this point anyway.”

  Ridley sighed and looked to the twins. They both nodded enthusiastically. “Fine,” she said. “But this doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.”

  Theo smiled happily. “I understand.” He listened for the cooing noise he knew should be coming from the gazebo’s roof.

  You see, Theo had let his doves loose just before leaving home that evening. Then, during his walk to the park with his siblings, he had signaled for the birds to follow, just in case he needed them. Neither the audience nor the Misfits had noticed.

  Leila came to the front of the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce a special guest who will be assisting me with the final segment of our performance this evening. Meet Theo Stein-Meyer!”

  Over a smattering of applause, one of the judges called out, “If he participates, young lady, none of you will be eligible for the grand prize.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” said Carter.

  “Theo is an indispensable member of our group,” Leila added.

  The twins gave Theo high fives.

  Ridley crossed her arms but nodded begrudgingly.

  “Suit yourselves,” said the judge, sitting back down.

  The Misfits conferred. Theo told them his plan. “Leila, go ahead with what we practiced,” he said. “But then follow my lead. The finale will blow them away.”

  He stepped back and rested his bow against the strings. He moved his hand briskly, and a jolt echoed across the town green. The audience quieted and watched the magicians skeptically.

  “Good people of Mineral Wells!” Leila called out. “If I may beg your attention! We have a tale to tell you! A reenactment of the scene from several weeks ago, when a group of gangsters broke into my father’s magic shop and tried to hold us hostage!”

  A murmuring rose up from the crowd. After all the rumors that had been floating around, people were excited to hear the story straight from the source.

  Leila went on, embellishing the events just the way the Misfits had practiced. Theo accompanied her with his violin, playing a dramatic riff when Carter, Ridley, Olly, and Izzy—creeping around the stage like cartoonish bad guys—pretended to be the frown clowns. His violin let out a triumphant squeal when Leila captured the villains with a long white rope and tied them up. The four formed a line across the gazebo, arms raised in front of themselves, wrists exposed.

  “The Magic Misfits need a volunteer to check that these bindings are solid,” she called out. “Is anyone willing to help?”

  Theo held on to a suspenseful trill as he scanned the audience. “Leila,” he whispered. “Over there.”

  “You!” Leila shouted, pointing to Emily Meridian. “Please make your way to the stage.”

  Moments later, she was climbing the stairs. Emily’s eyes were worried as she leaned toward him and whispered, “This is a terrible mistake.”

  “I am sorry you feel that way,” Theo said simply.

  “Miss, would you mind checking that the knots are tight?” asked Leila, directing her voice out at the audience.

  Emily did as she was told. Through thin lips, she called, “Plenty tight. Almost too tight, Leila.”

  Leila blinked, a bit flustered. “Thank you.… You may step down.”

  Once Emily had put enough distance between herself and the group, Leila winked at Theo. It was the signal they had agreed upon at their last rehearsal. She clapped and the knots were undone. She whipped the rope away.

  The next part happened quickly, while the crowd was still ooohing and aaahing.

  Theo placed his violin and bow gently on the gazebo floor. He looked
intensely at Carter, Ridley, Olly, and Izzy to let them know that he was about to make his move. Then he called out to his doves in the way that only he knew, blowing quickly through his teeth. Six white birds fluttered down from the roof of the gazebo and landed on the Misfits—one on each of their heads or hats, which they struggled to keep steady.

  The audience gasped, then broke into applause. Finally, things were going right. Did it matter that they would be disqualified? Was this not the most important part of the performance—creating wonder?

  Theo did not have his magic bow in his pocket, so he raised his arms instead. Keeping his palms facing downward, Theo spread his fingers and then began to lift his hands upward. The birds on the Misfits’ heads and flapped their wings. Each of the kids suddenly appeared to rise from the gazebo floor, as if the birds were carrying them. Up and up they went. Higher. Higher. One inch, two, three, four, five!

  Several members of the audience stood in surprise. Some seemed to cry out in fear. Carter wore a look of delight. Leila clutched her fists to her chin. The twins giggled. Ridley smirked. And Theo kept a focused expression plastered on his face, as if it were taking all his might to control the birds and the levitation of his friends.

  He knew he did not have much time before someone came around the side of the stage and discovered the secret of his illusion, so he whistled loudly and the birds left the heads of the Misfits, flying out over the crowd and circling the town green.

  The Magic Misfits continued to float above the floor for several seconds, until Theo lowered his hands, smoothly but quickly, and each of them settled back onto firm footing.

  The audience practically exploded. They leapt to their feet, cheering—even Tyler and the other bullies, Theo noticed. The Misfits came to the front of the stage, barely able to contain their excitement. They grasped hands and raised them up, and together, they took a long, well-earned bow.

  TWENTY-TWO

  They did not win, of course.

  That honor went to Miss Carmen Halprin and her trio of dancing dachshunds—Henny, Penny, and Bruce. The judges handed her the trophy and the award money, which she accepted to the din of polite applause.

  Everyone knew which of the acts had had a real impact, if only at its end.

  Meeting up with the other Misfits off stage, Theo found that Ridley was true to her word, and not yet ready to be forgiving. “So, you ruin the day, and when you rush in at the last minute, you expect to be hailed as a hero?”

  “Oh, leave him alone, Ridley,” said Leila, throwing her arms around Theo. “We’ve all been through a lot this week.”

  “Every week, it seems,” Carter added.

  Izzy smiled. “Hopefully we can keep the villains at bay every other week from now on.”

  “Hey,” said Olly, pointing to the other end of the lawn. “Isn’t that Mr. Meridian and Emily waving to us?”

  “Let’s go say hi,” Leila said, and started to cross the lawn. “I want to thank Emily for her help.” Carter, Ridley, and the twins followed.

  Theo thought of what Emily had said to him on stage: This is a terrible mistake. Was she going to tell the Misfits the truth? He thought about asking his friends to stay put, but he knew that would only make them ask why. “Wait,” he said, but no one heard him.

  Crossing the town green after his friends, Theo was stopped by familiar voices calling to him.

  To his great relief, his family greeted him with hugs and congratulations, despite the fact that rescuing his friends from embarrassment had caused the Stein-Meyer Family Band to lose their chance at local fame and glory as well. “I’m proud of you, little brother,” Leo said, rubbing his head. Then he leaned close. “But make sure you keep practicing that violin. You’re quite gifted.”

  “I will. I promise.” He glanced toward the other end of the lawn, where Mick Meridian appeared already to be in deep conversation with the Magic Misfits. “Could you please hold on to my violin case for a moment? I shall return shortly.”

  By the time he reached the others, he could sense something was off. Carter was clutching Change-O’s leash so tightly his knuckles were white. Leila’s jaw was dropped in shock, and Presto mimicked her, perched on her shoulder. Olly and Izzy looked like someone had just insulted their matching rompers. And Ridley’s face had turned a reddish color that managed to erase the freckles from her cheeks entirely.

  Even though he knew what would happen when he opened his mouth, Theo still had to ask, “What is wrong?” They turned to him as if he had appeared out of nowhere.

  Emily said, “We had to tell them, Theo.”

  “Tell them what?” he asked, his voice barely audible.

  “That I was the ventriloquist from the Emerald Ring,” answered Mick.

  “Oh?” Theo said vaguely. “Wow.”

  “And about what Emily and I have been doing to all of you.”

  “Throwing my voice,” said Emily. “Trying to save you by keeping you apart.”

  For the first time, Theo thought she sounded like someone who had been brainwashed. As if her father had filled her head with conspiratorial nonsense.

  Then, to Theo’s utter horror, Emily turned to the Misfits and said, “Theo knew. My father and I told him all this yesterday.”

  His friends turned to him, and he felt himself stop breathing at their looks of shock and anger.

  “Is that true?” Carter asked.

  “I—I—” It was all he could manage to say.

  “That answers your question, Carter,” Ridley murmured, glaring at Theo.

  “Now, hold on,” said Leila. “We have to hear Theo’s side of the story.” She sounded unsure.

  Theo composed himself. “They did tell me yesterday what they had done. Throwing voices and trying to make us fight. But they also explained to me why they did it.” He glanced at Emily, who avoided his eyes. “They were worried that Kalagan would target us,” he said. “They believed that the only way to remove his bull’s-eye was for us to stop being friends.”

  “That’s why you wouldn’t perform with us? You listened to them?” Ridley asked. “That’s horrible, Theo.”

  “When I made the decision, I was worried that they were right. I did it so that none of us would get hurt the way that Mr. Meridian was hurt in the fire at the resort.”

  “How on Earth did you know my scar was from the fire, Theo?” Mick said.

  “I did not,” Theo replied. “But thank you for confirming it.”

  Mick grimaced, but nodded. Theo felt a slight thrill at having turned the tables on Mick and Emily, even in this small way.

  “There’s so much more that we need to share with you,” Mick finally said. “In time, you’ll know the truth. But for now, we think you all are in great danger. I know Kalagan. But I also know Dante Vernon.”

  “My dad is the best,” said Leila with a scoff.

  “He’s prideful and he’s reckless. He thinks of himself as invincible.”

  “Invisible?” said Olly.

  “But that’s only sometimes!” Izzy added.

  “Invincible,” Mick repeated. “As though nothing and no one can hurt him. Why else would he continue to ask the six of you to put yourselves in harm’s way just to help him settle his differences?”

  The Misfits had no answer for this. Theo thought of what Mr. Vernon had done in just the last few months. Suggesting they dress up in costumes and break into Bosso’s hotel room. Hiding truths about Sandra Santos. Thinking that protecting his ledger from those who wished to steal it was more important than keeping his own daughter safe. And most recently, leaving them to fend for themselves, knowing there was a chance Kalagan would come after them.

  Mick sighed. “Let me tell you a story.”

  According to Mick, the current Emerald Ring numbers were too many to count.

  However, it had begun with only two: Dante and Lyle. They wished to hold magic aloft as an ideal entertainment. It was how they created a sense of wonder in their own world.

  Kalagan, however, h
ad tried to get the group to see that their skills had the potential to make money. He had picked up several books about psychology and hypnotism. Mesmerism. He practiced on the members of the Emerald Ring.

  And then everything turned on its head one summer, shortly after the sign-up list for the Mineral Wells talent show was posted. The Emerald Ring was the clear favorite to win. Yet the group could not agree on which of their skills should conclude the act.

  Dante thought he could come up with a way to make every member of the Emerald Ring disappear at once.

  Kalagan wanted to mesmerize several members of the audience into placing their wallets and jewelry into a velvet sack and then make them set it on fire. The sack would burn just as the volunteers realized what they had done. But the final reveal would have Kalagan removing his top hat, showing the victims that their belongings were safe, balanced perfectly on his head.

  Dante did not trust that Kalagan would return the belongings safely or soundly.

  The argument grew heated until Sandra suggested that the Emerald Ring hold their own contest: Dante’s routine versus Kalagan’s act.

  The boys agreed to meet in the basement of the lodge at the resort, where Bobby, Sandra, Mick, and Lyle had set up a platform the size and shape of the gazebo floor.

  Dante performed first, issuing a request for several members of the Ring to stand on the makeshift stage as if for a curtain call. Surrounded by stacks of boxes, swirls of dust, and curtains of cobwebs, he showed them what to do to create his illusion. It worked flawlessly, and Dante bowed deeply, his friends applauding.

  Then it was Kalagan’s turn. He asked each member of the Emerald Ring to give him their most valuable possessions, and he put them all inside his velvet bag. He made a long candlestick appear out of nowhere, then snapped his fingers, the wick bursting alight.