Meeting Kelly again - part 2


The next morning I woke suddenly, with panicky thoughts of where was I? And why was I dressed in a granny nightdress? I took me a few moments to get myself together enough to exclude the loud thoughts of Kelly's waking moments, or she calmed enough and remembered last night, so she knew the answers.

I got up and dressed, seeing that the time on the portable bedside clock was few minutes passed seven. I considered whether I should go to Kelly's room and invite her to breakfast, but there was a knock on the door and Kelly called, "Are you ready for breakfast? Because I need to eat something, if I'm to last 'til lunch."

I opened the door and she bounced in. I put a jacket on and led her to the dinner room. I picked a table in the corner, because I knew there would be other guests turning up later and felt we needed to keep our conversations as private as practical. To Kelly this was all a novelty, except the plastic containers of cereal and thermos jugs of tea and coffee. The concept of a breakfast menu seemed totally new and unexpected; this quietened her while she studied it.

Mrs Phipps' daughter came to take our breakfast orders. I ordered a fried breakfast from the components listed on the menu. Kelly looked at me asking permission to do the same; I nodded that she may. She ordered a fried breakfast too, but asked what black pudding was and when Miss Phipps described it to her, she decided that she was not feeling brave that morning and left it out of her order.

I organised coffee for us while we waited.

"This must cost you a lot," commented Kelly. "How are you going to pay for my room?"

"That's not really my problem." Kelly frowned as if I had suggested that it was going to be her problem. I felt some mental pressure that probably indicate she would be displeased if I asked her to pay. "Dr Paston assured me that the home would pay me back any reasonable expenses I made to keep you safe."

"And you believed her?"

"I get that she may not be your favourite person, but she seemed genuinely concerned for your well-being and upset by your absence. I think she would rather pay for a couple of nights' bed and breakfast, than have you turn up dead of exposure or stabbed in some distant city. Or have to drive all the way here to collect you from a police station, if you got caught stealing."

"I suppose," she answered. I felt a thought appending that Dr Paston probably did not want the investigation that would follow something like that.

"But," I added, "even if they only paid part of the expenses, I am glad to have found out something about you and made sure you were safe for the night."

Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of breakfast and an older couple arriving in the dining room. Kelly tucked into her breakfast as if she had not fed in more than twenty-four hours. While we ate, we talked about what Kelly would do in the morning; she said she would find the library and might read a book about magic. I cautioned her against trying out whether magic was helping her stealing, in case it failed her at an embarrassing moment. I reminded her of her efforts to perform the linking rings with a combination of brute force and magic. I told her that I would be calling her guardian to let her know that Kelly was safe and would be back late the following day. Kelly did not like the idea, but acknowledged that it would cause less trouble.

Kelly asked if I would broach the subject of training her when I called Dr Paston. I said, "That is probably better left until after my tour is finished and I have the time to actually do some training, but I'll definitely start the ball rolling, so I can start assessing your power and control and increasing the latter as soon as possible. I guess I had better leave it a week and then start, because there's bound to be a ton of paperwork to get through, but maybe I can arrange sanctioned visits, so you can get a feel for what the magician's life is like (it'll save you a load of trouble and money if we can sort that out properly)."

After breakfast I arranged the room for Kelly that night with supper and breakfast, while she went up to get her coat. Then we went out to the car to drive back into the town centre. During the drive, she asked, "What am I going to do about this?" She tugged at the ring still round her neck.

"What do you want to do with it?" I asked. "I could organise someone to take it off, if you wanted me to, but they would destroy the ring in the process. Is it uncomfortable?"

"Uncomfortable is not the right word," she said, giving the appearance of considering what the right word might be and coming up blank. "A lot of the time I forget it's there, but it sometimes gets in the way, and other times it reminds me that it's there by being cold. It is definitely not designed for sleeping in. But despite that it feels right, in a way I can't explain, you know?"

"I think I get the idea," I answered. "So, how did you sleep last night?"

"That's the odd thing. I tossed and turned a bit and then I think I took it off and put it under my pillow and it was back on my neck when I woke up. I can't quite be sure because I was half asleep at the time."

"That sounds to me as if the magic is looking after you; trying to keep you safe and happy. But I wouldn't push your luck too far, because it may be that the magic will stop if you press it too hard. A lot of the accidents with magicians you hear about are occasions when the magic left the magician in the middle of a stunt. Most of the fatalities with the bullet catch stunt are the result of the magician losing control of the magic, whether this was due to the stress of the situation interfering with the control or the magic abandoning the performer, the only people that know got shot in the head as a consequence, so they aren't telling."

"Are you telling me not to try to deliberately use magic, until I have some training?" she asked.

"No, I was just thinking aloud, but for the moment that sounds like the best advice you could follow."

"And what should I tell people who ask about the ring round my neck?"

"I haven't a clue, whatever you say nobody will believe you, because the truth is unbelievable and any lie will not sound right. I would suggest you tell them whatever you like, just don't be rude to anyone who asks, because that gives the impression that you have something to hide and there are few things that motivate people to investigate more than other people seeming to have something to hide."

I went quiet to concentrate on parking, but it was Kelly's turn to think out loud. "I guess it doesn't really matter what I tell people, because they won't believe whatever I say. I just need to come up with a way of saying, 'It's none of your business!' without saying it in a rude way." She went into deep thought, I relaxed the slight mental tug that I had been experiencing all morning. "How does 'It was an unintended present from a friend' sound?"

I finished parking before answering. "It has a ring of truth, while being vague enough to let people know you don't want to talk about it to them. One thought though; perhaps drop the word 'unintended', some people might think that it means you stole it. And it's nice that you consider me a friend."

"Apart from Nancy, my friend at the home, you're the first person to be nice to me in a very long time without expecting something in return or being paid to do it as part of their job."

"Surely, it can't as bad as all that."

"I guess it isn't really, but sometimes it feels even worse. Come to think of it, Nancy hasn't been quite so friendly in the past few weeks, because I haven't told her how you levitated me, because I don't know, but she doesn't believe that."

"I'm afraid that's one of the problems with magic, but you'll get used to it, in time. The only people you can tell the secrets of magic to, are those that already know them."

Kelly sat in the passenger seat considering this conundrum.

"Well, it's time for me to go to work," I said. I opened the car door and stepped out. Kelly seemed reluctant to leave the warmth of the car, but got out too. "How about you see if you can find a card trick in a book at the library. I've got a deck you can try things out with." I pulled a sealed pack of cards from my jacket pocket and tossed it towards her. She caught it in a casual manner and stuffed it in the pocket of her coat.

I strode towards the stage door and she kept pace with me. As I pressed the entry combination on the door, she asked, "How will I know when to come back to meet you for lunch?"

"I would tell you when, but I don't really know myself. It'll depend on whether this TV reporter is prompt and how much they ask and what kind of magic I end up doing on them. I get the feeling that you'll know before I do. I just had a thought; you might want a coffee and a pastry or something like that mid-morning; this'll cover it." I pressed a ten pound note into her hand.

Kelly, I sensed, was torn between being grateful for the thought and a touch offended that I did not think she had the money on her to get a coffee. I did not wait for the conflict to resolve itself, before I finished the door combination and entered the theatre. I looked back at the frosted door and saw Kelly's silhouette move away.

--------

The morning flew by. The reporter and her cameraman were on time and asked all the same questions, which I've answered dozens of times before. We allowed them to film a 'rehearsal' of the assistant's revenge illusion, which really means we did the illusion with me and the assistant in plain clothes, instead of costume. Finally they wanted me to do the sawing in half illusion on the reporter, but I did not have time to teach her to make a decent showing of the thin model sawing, so I resorted to the tried and popular jigsawing illusion; she reacted with an appropriate amount of fear when I touched her side with the blade, before setting the saw going and running the saw over the top of the waist stock.

After the reporter left, we ran through some of the snags we had had the previous evening, with the assistants and technicians. Ferrera asked if she could reserve a comp ticket for an uncle who lived in the city; I thanked her for reminding me and told her that I would sort it out for her when I arranged for a comp ticket for someone too.

So, it was not until long gone half past eleven that I had the chance to call Dr Paston.

"Hello, Dr Paston speaking," came the voice I recognised from before; she seemed a little out of breath.

"Good Morning Dr Paston. I have good news. Kelly is safe and planning to return to you tomorrow morning."

She spluttered a bit, as she tried to remember that the person she knew as Andrea was known to me as Kelly and therefore identified me by association.

"That is good news. Can you tell me what the situation is?" she asked. I guess she had some form to fill in to explain the absence of any residents.

"She was at the stage door. I spoke to her and discovered that while she had a bus ticket to return to you, she had failed to organise somewhere to stay the night. So I organised and meal and bed and breakfast. We talked for a bit and she seems fascinated by the magic. I've got her a ticket to actually see the show this time." Before Dr Paston could interrupt I assured her that I would not be claiming reimbursement for the ticket as it was costing me nothing.

"So, where is she now?" The home's head asked.

"I don't know exactly, probably the library, but I did give her some money towards coffee and a pastry. She seemed very interested in the magic, so I asked her to learn a card trick to impress me at lunch. If she does well at that and has something more interesting than 'wow' and 'astonishing' to say about the show, I might even consider taking her on as an apprentice of sorts, once this tour is done with." I thought it was a good idea to sow the seed of the plan to take Kelly as an apprentice.

"Thank you, for letting me know how things are with Andrea." I tensed at the use of the wrong name for Kelly. "Thinking of the possibility of a work placement, you might want to know more about her record before to make any decisions about that kind of thing." Indeed I wanted to know something of Kelly's history, but not as a barrier to getting to train her; more to have a better idea of things that might trigger a defensive response from her magic, which might be dangerous.

I hung up and went to arrange the two complimentary tickets with the box office.

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Shortly after midday, I entered Ferrera and Judy's dressing room and announced that I planned to take them for a proper restaurant lunch and that they would meet someone who might become important in their lives. They tried to protest that their diets meant that it was a bad idea, because they make a big thing of being in good shape for the show and their fans. I told them that the afternoon was one of those rare things, a period of free time, and I was not going to force feed them, and mostly I wanted to get their opinion of the person who would be joining us for lunch. They accepted the invitation more to find out what and who I was on about, but said they would be ready in fifteen minutes. I hoped that they would not dress up too much, because I thought Kelly might find it intimidating.

Twenty minutes later, we stepped out of the stage door together. I looked round to see whether my supposition that Kelly would be able to turn up on time had been accurate. She was walking down the lane from the front of the theatre towards us. I met her halfway. "How was your morning, Kelly?"

She seemed curious, but also cautious, about the two women following me. "I think I've worked something out." She said, it felt as if she was trying to avoid saying too much in case it was something that should not be mentioned in front of my companions.

"Great," I said, in what I hoped was an encouraging tone, "Let's go somewhere to eat and you can show us." I set a pace and Kelly and my assistants followed. I had used the time while my assistants got ready to look up a nice restaurant within easy walking distance and book a table.

Upon arrival at Chez Henri we were shown to a secluded table for four and presented with menus. The waiter soon returned asking if we wished to order drinks. Judy, Ferrera and I asked for water, but Kelly asked if she could have a coke.

While we looked at the menu, I introduced Kelly to Ferrera and Judy and the other way round too. They all seemed puzzled about why they were being introduced, until I told them that Kelly was going to be my apprentice magician, to start her training at the end of the tour. Ferrera leant forward across the table to touch Kelly on the chin; she is a very tactile person and likes to see a person's profile before making a judgement about their character. At the moment of contact there seemed to be a crackle and she withdrew her hand very rapidly. Kelly put a hand to her chin as if she had felt something, but not as if she had been shocked. Judy was more cautious and offered her hand, which Kelly shook with the hand not to her chin; this was a bit awkward as Judy offered her right hand and Kelly shook it with her left.

I hoped the crackle was not an omen for the future relationship between Kelly and Ferrera. That thought was interrupted by the arrival of our drinks and our food orders being taken.

I asked Kelly if she felt ready to show us the card trick she had learnt this morning. She seemed a little unsettled, but said she was ready. The cards came out of her pocket and were removed from the pack. She handed me the deck and asked me to shuffle it.

Taking the cards I did a one-handed riffle shuffle. She watched with an open mouth. "Can you teach me to do that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, it's taken me years of practice to get the one-handed shuffle to the point I can do it, without a great deal of concentration. You will probably find it even more difficult, because of the size and shape of your hands; your hands are quite small and your fingers are not particularly long." As demonstrated by doing another shuffle, I said, "You see, you need to be able to hold the two parts of the deck side-by-side after the cut move and still have the control and strength to get the cards to interleave." As I completed the shuffle, I asked, "Is that shuffled enough?"

She accepted the deck back, saying, "I suppose so, unless that was one of those false cuts that kept getting mentioned. Not that it really matters, because this is a card trick." She turned the deck over so that the cards were face up and quickly showed us that the cards were all different, and stating so, as she passed the cards in little clumps from one hand to the other. "Now, Judy, right? Think of a number! But don't tell me it, but you'll need to remember it for later." Judy nodded that she had a number in her head.

"Now it's time to do a bit of simple arithmetic. Multiply your number by six," In response to Judy's nod, she continued, "then add forty-two." Judy nodded again. "Right now divide by three, and add two. Now, halve it and take away the number you first thought of. This is your new number."

Kelly returned the cards to the hand she had passed them from and began passed then across again, in small clumps. As she did so, she dropped three eights onto the table in front of her then placed the rest of the deck face down next to them. She made a move to square up the deck, but my eyes had been on Judy since she had made a little intake of breath when the first eight had hit the table.

"Do they match your new number?" Kelly asked Judy. Judy was too astonished to do more than nod. "These cards are special to you for the moment. I put one of your eights face down on the table, then a card from the deck." She placed the card from the top of the deck on the eight face down, but not before flashing it to reveal it as the three of spades. "Then I put another of your eights on top, face down and another card from the deck and then your last eight."

I was trying to work out what she was up to; Judy was very involved in what was happening; even Ferrera, who had often said she found card tricks to be dull, was watching, probably prompted by Judy's reaction.

Kelly carefully lifted the small pile of cards and placed them on the deck, then asked Judy to tap the deck. Kelly straightened the deck and lifted the cards from the table and quickly dealt three eights from the top of the deck; I know what to look for in false deals, but I did not detect any moves that told me that she had dealt those eights from anywhere other than the top of the deck.

Ferrera was the first to speak, "So, how long have you been doing card tricks?"

Kelly replied with total honesty, "Since about ten o'clock this morning." Kelly replaced the eights back in the deck by cutting and putting an eight between the two halves and completing the cut and repeating. This manoeuvre clued me in to the possibility that there was something about the deck that needed to be hidden. As she slipped the deck back into the packet, our starters arrived.

When the waiter had left, Kelly turned to me and asked, "What did you think?"

"I'm impressed; I certainly didn't see that last bit coming, but I suspect that I could probably work it out if you showed me a few more times. Had you really never done a card trick before?"

"How could I? If Betty found a deck of cards, she'd confiscate it. She is very down on any form of gambling; I guess it's not really a surprise, because why more than half of the girls are there has something to do with gambling in some form or other."

Judy and Ferrera looked at me to see if this explanation made any sense to me. I smiled that it did, but did not enlighten them about how.

"So, how was it, really?" Kelly asked. I think she was trying to show that she could take criticism or she was after some pointers on how to make it better. We began eating.

"Well, for a first attempt it was amazing, but the card handling could use some work, but a bit of practice and some pointers are all that would take, and the patter could do with some work, you sounded like you were making it up as you went along. That's not always a bad thing, but in a rehearsed card trick most people expect you to be better rehearsed. Did you try it out on anyone?"

"I tried it out on one of the librarians; she was nice to me when I asked where the books on magic were. She pointed something out that made how the trick was done quite obvious; I worked out what to do about that on the way to meet you."

We concentrated on eating. I got the impression, through our connection that Kelly was not impressed with the actuality of starters, but the idea of them intrigued.

As the contents of our first plates dwindled, Judy said, "That's an unusual necklace. Where did you get it?"

Kelly reached up to touch the ring round her neck. "Oh this," she said, as if she had forgotten it was there. "A friend gave it to me. I don't think he meant me to keep it, but I haven't had a proper chance to give it back." I tried to project my approval of this answer; I think it got through, because she smiled.

"May I have a closer look, because from here it looks like a Chinese linking ring?" asked Judy.

"Yes, of course, but I haven't worked out how to get it off." Kelly demonstrated this by trying to lift it and not getting it passed her nose.

Ferrera gave me a significant glance; she surmised that I had been the original owner of the ring.

Judy went to Kelly and ran her thumb round the ring and concluded that the ring was solid and even if it was not, the gap that could be opened would not be wide enough to get Kelly's neck through. "So how did you get it on in the first place?"

"I don't really know. I wasn't paying attention to that at the time and it happened really quickly."

Judy returned to her chair in time for the waiter to remove the crockery and promise that the main course would be with us soon.

"Dave, tells us, you are going to be an apprentice magician. How did that happen? And wouldn't you rather be an assistant?" Judy asked. Was she wondering if I was looking to replace her and Ferrera with someone younger?

"I'm not sure if I'd rather be a magician or an assistant. Maybe I'll get to try both and see what I prefer. Maybe I'd not be good as an assistant, because I'm not as beautiful as you two. Maybe I'll not be good as a magician either."

Both assistants smiled at the compliment and conversation moved on to safer topics, with Ferrera and Judy vying to impress Kelly with tales of places they had been and people they had met. Ferrera was the first to leave, saying that she wanted to visit with her uncle before the show. Judy soon followed claiming a gym session she had booked.

"I hope you enjoyed the meal, Kelly." She said she had, but I felt that she would rather have had something simpler. "So, what do you make of Judy and Ferrera?"

"Erm," she said. "I don't want to be, erm, too judgemental; only having met the once, but I think I like Ferrera better." In answer to my surprised expression. "I think she's more like me in some way, but I can't work out how, but I think that it will take a while to become her friend, but once she has you as a friend, she's your friend for life. Judy seems friendly from the start, but I'm not sure if that will last; if I offend her somehow or seem to be a rival, I don't think she'll bother staying friends."

"There may be some truth in that," I said. "So, what are you going to do this afternoon?"

"I think I'll go back to the library until it shuts, then I'll use that tenner you gave to get something to eat, while I wait for the theatre doors to open. You said you were going to organise a ticket so I can see the show."

"Yes. I've got that sorted. You just have to go in and asked at the box office for a 'complimentary ticket for Kelly'. I hope you enjoy the show and I'll meet you outside the stage door afterwards, but I may be later, as some of the packing up to move the show on only I can do."

"If it gets too cold, I'll come inside to wait." There was a pause, during which I wondered how she thought that was possible, because not only was that entrance, by keypad, but the stage-doorman would be there too. "I saw you put in the number at the door this morning and once I'm in I'll try not to get in anybody's way. What are you going do this afternoon?"

"This afternoon, I shall spend some time adjusting the buzzsaw (the blade is scraping against the channel) and answering some of my fan mail, before my agent starts bugging me about it."

I paid the bill and we parted at the door.

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An afternoon may seem a long time when you have nothing to do, but when you are busy, it feels like you turn round twice and it is gone. The buzzsaw adjustment was quite simple and a crew member happened to be about so it went well. Fan mail and emails, seemed time consuming, I felt I had forty or so answered, but by the time someone popped their head round the dressing-room door to let me know it was time to start the customary preparations, the count was really twenty-seven. I did check my emails for anything from Kelly, but finding nothing, guessed she had decided that email was not good enough for her or deemed it too much at risk of discovery by Dr Paston.

I focussed on the show preparations and, before I knew it, it was show time. I made my entrance via a smoke filled box and the instant I was visible to the audience I knew that Kelly was watching. Momentarily distracted, I nearly missed my cue as one of the boxes I produce assistants from was pushed on stage. As I and a crew member covered the box for the first time, I tried to project the thought, 'Please don't be so intrusive; I need to concentrate.' As we lifted the cloth from the box to reveal the first of three assistants to come from that box, I sensed an apologetic thought and Kelly did not seem quite so present. Through most of the first act, Kelly managed not to be distracting, although I was getting an unprecedented feeling for the excitement, fear and other feelings of an audience member.

Towards the end of act one, I felt that something was wrong. Kelly's presence was not absorbed in the show. I had a few moments to ask mentally, 'is something wrong?' I got a reply that distressed me enough that Judy came to me moments after the curtain had fallen to ask what was wrong.

"I don't know," I answered. "But Kelly is watching the show and something is happening that is making her unhappy. Maybe you can get someone to go and check on her for me." I was aware that there is little communication between backstage and front-of-house during a performance, and particularly during the interval when backstage are usually perform a big scenery change and the cast are changing costumes, while the front of house staff are busy serving the paying customers their drinks.

I went to change into my second-half costume and hoped that Kelly would be alright; she had seemed to have some resilience. About half way through the interval there was a loud bang that was heard throughout the theatre. When I poked my head out of my dressing room, no-one seemed to know what the noise had been, but they were certain that it was not backstage. I had a moment of worrying for Kelly, only to sense a feeling of calmness and satisfaction from Kelly. It quickly filtered through to us that the bang had been from an area of front of house where no-one had been, but no explanation of what had caused it got through to us.

The second act went smoothly, with a particularly good audience participant for the guillotine routine. For the rest of the performance, I could feel Kelly watching intently, but she also felt a lot calmer than she had before the interval and the calmness rubbed off on me, helping me produce possibly the best performance of the tour, so far. At the end all the cast and my crew congratulated me on a show well done.

I went about my post-production tasks. Most of these are to conceal from my crew and assistants that in some instances I am using real magic, not illusion techniques. When I had finished I went to the green room and found Ferrera looking worried.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I changed quickly and went to front-of-house to see what my uncle thought of the show, but I can't find him and when I tried to ring him, his mobile is unobtainable."

"Maybe he had something to do tomorrow and went home and his phone is switched off."

"I suppose you're right, but it's not like him."

"Did you see Kelly while you were out there?"

"I think I saw her outside the stage-door, not in the crowd, but standing against the wall by the door. She wasn't there when I got back. But I was quite a while asking the staff if they had seen my uncle."

I wondered where Kelly was now and got back a feeling of the stage. "I hope you find out what happened with your uncle, but I think I need to go and find Kelly."

I found Kelly in the wings sitting at the stage-manager's desk reading the labels next to the switches on the console. "Are you ready for a good night's sleep, young lady? Or do you want to talk about what you thought of the show, first? By the way, how did you get here?"

There was a pause in which she seemed to be considering which question to answer first and whether being addressed as 'young lady' was complimentary or otherwise. She chose to answer my last question. "I went up to the door and punched in the code and came through. I wasn't seen by the guy who looks after the door, but he greeted me nicely when I said hello. Then it was just a question of trying to find you, but I got lost, so I decided to stay in some place where you would easily see me, but I wouldn't be in the way and let you find me."

I wondered if this was another example of her magic protecting her, in the same way it seemed to protect her when she stole from shops. I did not get much time for this speculation, because she stood and said, "Shall we go? Your schedule says you're due on the other side of the country the day after tomorrow and I guess you'll need a good night's sleep yourself. And I've got a bus to catch in the morning. I hope Betty isn't too angry."

I took the time as we walked to my car, to tell her about my phone call that morning with Dr Paston and that she was expected back at the home tomorrow afternoon. I also mentioned that I had broached the subject of her apprenticeship and that while Betty seemed of the opinion that it would be good for Kelly, she had expressed some doubts that I would take her on, once I had more information about her background.

We both followed our own trains of thought during the drive to our lodgings, where we were greeted in a more friendly manner, especially when I told her we would have supper in the dining room. Kelly asked if she might have a mushroom omelette and chips, like last night; she added that she was still not really hungry from lunch. I ordered scrambled egg on toast with beans, because I was feeling peckish, from skipping an early evening, because I was up to my elbows in busy, but if I ate too much late in the evening I would regret it in the morning and I had a long drive ahead of me.

As we waited for the supper and while we ate it, I got Kelly's thoughts on the show. It seemed she particularly liked the illusions in which either Judy or Ferrera were involved, which did not surprise me, because were the only sections that contained true magic the rest was achieved by illusionist's techniques, with the occasional bit of magic to make up for the lack of rehearsal time with my temporary assistants. She seemed most impressed by the buzzsaw illusion, which Judy had been the victim of that evening; Judy and Ferrera alternate, because it is a draining illusion to perform for the assistant.

I cautiously approached the subject of why she had felt sad towards the end of the first act. She told me that the man next to her had been touching her and she did not like it and that she had made the man go away during the interval. I knew because I had booked the tickets that 'the man' had to be Ferrera's uncle, which explained why he was not there to see his niece after the show. Out of curiosity I asked if she had heard bang during the interval and had seen what it was. She said that it had been very loud, but nobody had noticed her when they came to see what had happened.

"Did you cause the noise?" I asked, putting two and two together from what she had said.

"Kind of, I think." She did not seem sure whether it was her who had caused the bang. "It happened when the man went away. I was trying to get away from him, but he followed me. I found myself in a dead end corridor, so I made him go away and there was a big bang and I walked away when people came running to see what the noise was."

This description of the event worried me, not only because it was becoming evident that Kelly was habitually using some kind of invisibility or 'don't notice me' effect, to go unnoticed, but also there was the implication that Ferrera's uncle had disappeared magically and violently. "Do you know where the man went?" I asked cautiously, but in the hope that a more mundane explanation would occur to me base on Kelly's answer.

"No." she was being honest, I could tell from our psychic connection, then she added, "He was reaching for me, so I made him go away and he went, just like that." She snapped her fingers to emphasise the instantaneousness of the man's disappearance. "And he went bang as he left."

My dread was confirmed; Kelly had vanished Ferrera's uncle, but I did not know whether he had been vanished to somewhere or nowhere, and neither, it seemed, did Kelly.

Having finished supper and thanked Mrs Phipps, we went to my room. At the door, she asked, "Have I done anything wrong? You seem very worried about something and it started when I told you about the man at the theatre."

My original intent had been to wish her a good night and go to bed. I invited her in. Once the door was shut I said, "I think vanishing the man was not the right thing to do, although, I admit, I can't think of something else you could have done. Maybe if we can discover where he is and perhaps get him back or at least discover he's safe, somewhere, we should."

"But, what if I don't want to?"

"I'm sure that you already know that sometimes you need to do things you don't want to, because it is the right thing to do. I think you'll find that this is one of those occasions."

I could feel her winding up to ask some variant on 'But, why?' "You may not have liked him, but there are people who will miss him; one of them is Ferrera, he was her uncle."

She was startled by this revelation and I felt her thoughts racing in circles trying to calculate if this would jeopardise her potential friendship with Ferrera. I decided not to involve myself in the maelstrom of thoughts rushing round Kelly's brain by drawing attention to myself.

"Ferrera doesn't like him, but I guess that's her problem." This was news to me; she had asked for a seat for him for the show, gone to meet him that afternoon and tried to find him after the show. "I don't want to see him ever again. But I suppose that I can avoid him in future."

She paused for more thought, during which she fiddled with the ring round her neck. With my attention drawn to the ring, I noticed that it was smaller than it had been, no longer able to pass her chin.

"Ok, how do I get him back, preferably to somewhere other than here?"

"That depends on where you vanished him too. We have to find him first."

"How do I do that?"

"I'm sorry, but I think it's going to have to be 'how do we find him?'" Kelly looked at me as if I was talking gibberish. "I don't think I have the power to go hunting for missing persons and, unless you've been holding out on me, you don't have the knowledge required. So, I need you to supply the power to get this done and I'll provide the experience and skill."

"Ok? I think. But I don't know how to do that either."

"Let's go and sit on the bed and hold hands, maybe I'll have to tap into your power; all you'll need to do is not prevent me."

We sat on the bed side-by-side and I put out my hand. She tentatively put her hand in mine and I curled my fingers over her hand and felt her tense as my fingertips touched the back of her hand; she was not comfortable with this. I tried to give her a little extra calmness, and felt her relax a little.

"What happens now?" she asked.

"In my experience, we feel stuff happening that is not happening to us, while we are safely here. There will be nothing to see, but it might feel like there is stuff to see. I admit that I've not done this often, but I don't think there is any danger."

"Ok. Is it ok if I ask questions and talk about things I feel? Or do you need me to be quiet so that you can concentrate?"

"If you talk quietly and limit yourself to talking about things relevant to what we are doing, it should be ok. Are you ready?"

"I think so, but I don't know what ready for this kind of thing feels like."

"I'll give you a countdown to me starting. You may find it easier to concentrate if you close your eyes or focus on something in the room. Here goes. Three, two, one, now." I pushed against the boundaries of my being and felt a thread spring forth and steer through the world the magic gave me access to. I felt outside that thread for other presences; there was Kelly, her presence was looped round the extended thread of me like a ring on a finger.

"Where are we now?"

"Sorry? We're in my room."

"But I can see a huge space of blackness, with sparkles in the distance all round. I'm sitting on this round thing, it's like sitting backward on a horse, but it isn't as big around."

I forced myself to examine the ring of Kelly's presence and had the feeling that it was Kelly-shaped, with the finest thread leading back to where our bodies, which ran parallel to my extended being.

"You can see where we are other than my room?"

"Why? Can't you?"

"No. I suppose that I didn't need to on the previous occasions; I knew where I was going and got there by feel." I tried to open myself up to her otherworldly perceptions, but only glimpsed the feel of a huge void with many distant presences. "I think this is what gets called the Astral Plane; it's a transiting place which allows access to other places. The sparkles you can see seem to me to be other travellers. They seem far enough away to not be a problem and I suspect that is a good thing, because who knows who or even what they may be."

There was a pause while Kelly evaluated what I had just told her. I felt the decision form in her mind that the other occupants of the Astral Plane were not something to explore until she was confident in her power and her abilities. I projected the thought that perhaps not even then, letting her know that such encounters in the past may have been the source of legends of gods and demons; this seemed to make her decision firmer.

"So what happens now? Are we going to find the man here?"

"It seems unlikely. Our best bets are somewhere else on the material plane, basically somewhere on Earth or Limbo; which some people call the Vanishing Place or the Nowhere. Which we try first depends on whether you can remember thinking of somewhere specific when you vanished him."

"I don't think I was thinking of anywhere; I just wanted him to go away and it happened."

"In that case, the Vanishing Place is our best bet for finding him. Hold on!"

I felt Kelly's fingers curl round mine as her presence seemed to tighten around my being. It felt like she gained weight in the Astral Plane, but I did not complain for fear that she might not be able to lessen the contact without losing it altogether. It was going to be difficult enough to find Ferrera's uncle without the possibility of needing to find Kelly too.

I made what felt like a left turn and I was somewhere else.

"It's all gone silver-grey and here there is a down; not like the other place," Kelly commented.

"I can't comment on the colour, because I've never seen it, but this Limbo. Most magical magicians can transport things directly her and back to where they want them to be. That is the essence of teleportation; you put something into Limbo and then bring it back in a different place. It is also used for vanishing stuff, hence it being called the Vanishing Place."

"I thought we were looking for something, not on a guided tour. But while you are in tour guide mode, what are the silvery trails going down?"

"I've heard of them, but I can't perceive them myself. The problem with using Limbo for vanish things is that it has a down, like you mentioned. This means that things fall; not fall as dropping off a cliff, but more like the fish food drifts down in a fish tank. Most magician need to keep track of where things are in the Nowhere if they want them back, but some have the ability to follow objects from where the entered here. I guess that is what you're seeing. How about if I move us to the area where the theatre is and we'll see if you can find a trail?"

"Does that make sense? This is the Nowhere, right? So, how can a bit of nowhere match up with a bit of somewhere?"

"Don't ask me how it works. I only know that times and places in the real world correspond with locations in Limbo. I heard that that was how the magicians who can sense trails find the beginning of the trail in the first place."

I thought back to earlier that evening at the theatre and felt my location change.

Kelly breathed a sigh of wonder. "It's so pretty here there's lots of silvery trails. Most of them as tiny, like flakes of glitter, but a few are more like tinsel." I tried to visualise what she was seeing, with no luck. I suddenly had a strong feeling of Judy's presence. "That one must have been where you vanished Judy into the coffee grinding machine and made her appear in the giant coffee cup." Then there was a feeling of someone I did not know and did not want to know. "That's him. I guess we have to follow the trail and catch up with him, even though he has a head-start on us."

"How are we going to follow the trail? I think you forget that I can't follow trails; I've only ever heard about them."

"Why don't you head downwards? And if you get too far from his trail, I'll try to steer you in the right direction."

I took a lot of concentration to move down through Limbo, especially when Kelly tried to nudge me from going straight down. Once in a while we would touch the trail, which to begin with was tinged with puzzlement, which turned to anger, fear and despair in quick succession.

"I think I can see his spark; it's leaving the trail." She nudged me into a sidestep. "What do we do when we catch up with it?"

"We put it back into the real world. Any ideas where you want to put him?"

"How do you mean?"

"When we push him back to the real world, where should he be? Where you vanished him from would probably be easiest, but it would raise questions about where he had been in the time in between."

"Will he remember the bit between while he was here?"

"Judy and Ferrera, who have spent short periods here, say they have a sense of how long they've been here, but have no specific impressions of the place, except the drifting down."

"Maybe we should send him home, in bed or in a chair; that way it might seem like a dream rather than something that happened to him."

"That sounds doable; I was afraid that you might want to drop him in the middle of a desert or somewhere equally bad for him."

"I wish I'd thought of that, but with you bringing it up like that, it feels like it would be a bad thing to do. Come to think of it, could we do something with his memory so he didn't remember me? That way he won't think it too odd."

"That would be an excellent idea if I was any good at mentalism."

"Mentalism, what's that?"

"In normal terms, mind-reading and, the bit people forget, mind-writing. The nearest I've come to mind-reading is how we seem to have some idea how the other is feeling; I've heard the term Tel-empathy used for that."

"But you did a whole quarter hour of mind-reading in your show."

"Fake. Magicians, of the non-magical sort, have been coming up with methods of appearing to mind-read. I use those methods; nothing magical at all."

"How about I try to change what he remembers of this evening?" Kelly offered.

"Probably a bad idea. One slip and he'll not only forget what he remembers of this evening, but you make him forget a chunk of his life or suddenly start speaking in Japanese; if you were trained it might be worth the risk, but I suggest that the least interference (that is none) is most likely best for now." It occurred to me to wonder why Kelly had not pulled her 'don't notice me' trick on the man. "Come to think of it, did you try not being noticed by him?"

"I suppose I did, but I don't remember; it's not like I do that deliberately. Until you pointed out that that seemed to be a thing I do, I had not noticed doing it at all."

"In that case that is another reason not to try interfering with his mind. I think he has some magical ability, to be able to follow you when you don't want to be. It may be small, the magical ability, but, when cornered, a rat can give a human a nasty bite, despite the difference in size."

"Ok, so, no memory-mods. We just dump him back to reality at his home, right?"

"It will be that simple, once we know where his home is. I think I can get him to tell me where home is, then push him out of Limbo to there and we go back to our bodies."

"Is it ok if I watch?"

"You might consider this your first lesson, but try not to interfere, just supply energy if I need it."

I could feel the presence of Ferrera's uncle now that I was in close proximity. I deliberately bumped into it with the question, 'Where is home?' in my mind. He veered to the side and I followed for about a minute, until he returned to drifting straight down. I gave him a push in the direction of reality and the spark disappeared and the trail ended; at least, that's what Kelly told me, I just felt that he was gone from there.

"Time for us to return to the real world too."

"Ok," she responded and I was alone in Limbo following my thread back to me.

When I opened my eyes I saw Kelly leaning over me with a worried expression, which quickly turned into a relieved smile.

"You're back. I was worried for a minute there. I wondered whether I needed to get some water to throw in your face to wake you up."

"Thanks, but I don't need waking up; in fact, I need to get some sleep to recharge my batteries. Tomorrow promises to be a long day. You should get some rest too."

"I guess you're right, but I don't feel tired, but, I don't know how to describe it, but I want to do some dreaming. I'll see you at breakfast, ok?"

As she headed for the door to go to her own room, I spotted that the steel ring around Kelly's neck was tighter than it had been before we entered the room. I did not know what it meant, but I surmised that if it kept shrinking, there was the possibility that it might tighten to the point where it was strangling her.

"It might be a good idea if you can take the ring from your neck and not put it back in the morning," I commented, hoping the comment might alert the magical self-defence part of Kelly's mind without letting the rest of her know there was any danger.

"I'll see if I can return it to you in the morning," she replied as the door shut.

I took my jacket off and then fell asleep before I could do more.

----------

When I arrived in the dining room for breakfast, Kelly was already tucking into a large breakfast, which today included black pudding. On the table beside the plate was the ring from around her neck. I got myself a coffee and ordered a plate of breakfast for myself.

As I sat down, she greeted me with a cheerful 'good morning'. She pushed the ring across the table towards me. "I suppose you want your ring back."

I looked at the ring, which still perfectly formed, but an inch or so smaller than when it had left my hand two nights ago. "Why don't you keep it; call it a souvenir. In fact, I might as well give you the other rings and you can see if you can get them to link and unlink. If you're going to learn magic, you are going to need to practice, so you can have the rings and the cards."

"Thank you," she said. A thought occurred to her. "No point in taking the cards; Betty will take them away as soon as she sees them."

"Good point. I'll call her once I know you are safely on your way home." She made me feel the impression where she was returning to was not home, just a place she lived. "I'll tell Dr Paston that I've given you some things to practice with and so long as you don't abuse the privilege, I think she'll be ok with that. I'll give you a lift to the bus station once I'm packed."

At the bus station she hugged me before getting on the coach that would take her back to the home. I hoped I was doing the right thing, by offering to train her.