Verity had recently installed Charity in a tent-like structure in the corner of the main area of the club. She was now looking for some more inspiration for her next spot after the next auction. She was not entirely surprised to have a few of the attendees of the ladies only charity event at the night club come up to her and tell her that they were amazed by her previous act. Most of these women were not about to volunteer to take part in the next piece of magic, and the two that did, did not inspire. She was beginning to think that she would have to resort to doing the mismade with Caroline, one of her former assistants, who was doing duty as a waitress for the event.

Then she met Angela and Davina. Angela wore a long white silk dress, white feathery wings and a halo, while Davina was in a red latex catsuit, black leathery wings and a headband that sprouted a pair of small horns.

“Hi. You must be Verity, right?” began the angel. “I'm Angela, and this is my sister Davina.” Davina interjected a 'Hi!' here. “We loved what you did with the gypsy fortune teller. We were wondering if you could do something with us.”

“Thank you. Did you have anything in mind?”

“Not really; we're not magicians,” said the angel. But we would love to be part of something dramatic, but we would want to be able to carry on normally afterwards.” The devil nodded confirmation.

“Let me guess! You're Angela,” Verity said touching the angel on the wrist and getting a quick 'yes' in response. “And you're Davina?” The young woman in the red catsuit nodded again. “And you're sisters?”

“Well actually we're twins, but we don't introduce ourselves that way, because you know what men are like.” At the raising of Verity's eyebrow, the angel added, “They get fixated on the idea of having a threesome, which is awkward, because Davina doesn't lean that way, if you know what I mean. And we're sufficiently different that just saying we're sisters is a truthful lie.”

“I think I can rustle up something for you two to try. Be ready at the performance area in about ten minutes, after I've auctioned the next item. If you'll excuse me I've got to find the equipment I'll need.”

Verity bustled off to locate the illusion she had brought along in case she found the right participants; she was delighted by the twin's costuming, she felt that she could not have arranged better if she had requested it.

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Verity was a little disappointed by the bidding for the all-expenses spa weekend that she was auctioning. In the end, she called an end to the lacklustre offers and bought it for herself at twice the last bid.

“And now for a bit more magic. This time I've found a pair of sisters willing to take part. Please put your hands together for Angela and Davina.”

The ladies in the angel and devil outfits looked surprised to be called forward by name, but ducked under the red velvet rope that cordoned the performance area, which was usually the dance floor.

After the introductions, Verity asked if either of the sisters had any idea what they had volunteered for.

“We haven't any idea what you have planned, but we did ask that we could carry on like normal afterwards; not like the person last time, who can't go around easily.”

“That reminds me, I really ought to organise that she have a few sandwiches or such-like to nibble on, because we don't want our gypsy fortune teller to get hungry.

“I think we'll frame this illusion as a battle between good and evil. And Angela and Davina are already dressed for the obvious roles. So to that end I brought you these swords.” Verity produced a pair of swords; straight flat blades with a small guard and a coloured pommel to balance the weight of the blade. She handed Davina the one with the red pommel and the white one to Angela. “Now, I would like you to duel each other, while I get the forfeit for the loser. Please be careful not to chop chunks of each other, because, as you know that's my job.”

While Verity withdrew from the arena, the twins took up fighting stances, they were soon dancing around each other with their swords making ringing contact, which drew more of the attendees at the event to see what was happening. The sisters wielded their swords with different styles; Davina swung hers with large arcs, while Angela, in the more constraining costume, spent a lot of the time parrying and deflecting the blows, but also managed to tap her sister several times with flat of the blade.

The magician returned pushing a tall cabinet with a waist-high table attached at the side. “Alright, I think that's enough fighting, so now we need to determine the winner.” She stood between the costumed women and took each by the wrist, resulting in the swords being transferred to the outside hand. “By a show of hands and bit of cheering, who thinks that Davina was the best swordswoman?” She raised Davina's hand. “And who thought that Angela did better?” Davina's hand was lowered and Angela's lifted.

It was not easy to tell which of the sisters had won the sword-fight, but Verity decided that Angela had received the greater plaudits and declared her the winner. “You may be wondering what you get for being declared the winner. Well, Angela, you get to choose who gets into this cabinet and cut in half.”

The audience could see the play of emotions across Angela's face. She wanted to underline the fact that she had won the sword-fight, even if she was unsure that Verity had counted the combined raised hands and cheers correctly. On the other hand she wanted to be involved with the magic. “I'm going to be the assistant in the cabinet,” the angel said.

“Alright, then. Open the doors in the side of the cabinet and get in. Be careful, as you duck your head in and put it out through the hole in the top, because I wouldn't want you to knock you halo crooked. I'll take your sword, so that it isn't in the way.”

Angela handed over the sword, then set about getting herself into the cabinet. Verity placed the blade on the table at the side of the upright box that the woman in the angel costume was insinuating herself into. “Alright, now that you're in, there are a couple of adjustments to be made. First shuffle forward a bit so that your toes peek out the slot at the bottom; you may want to steady yourself a bit by using the hole in the bottom corner of the upper part as a handhold. Davina could you help by shutting the side doors?”

While the woman wearing the devil horns headband and red latex cat-suit, went to close the cabinet's side doors, the magician opened the doors on the front to show some of Angela. Then she removed the doors completely, skimming them to the back of the performance area. “Of course, we can't cut Angela in half without a sharp edged blade. Fortunately, we have one here.” Verity took up the sword from the table. “Who, by a show of hands, thinks we should chop Angela in half and then separate the halves? And who reckons that it should be done at the same time?”

The noise from the crowd indicated that they were in favour of the 'both at once' approach. The magician fitted the white-pommelled sword into a gap between the table and cabinet containing the angel, who could no longer get out because her devil-sister had shut and latched the doors.

“Angela, are you ready?”

“I'm not sure; I don't know what I need to do to be ready to be cut in two.”

“Nothing much, really. You just need say, 'I'm ready,” and hope that I, the professional, know what I'm doing, and that your sister loves you enough to stop me if things start to go wrong.”

Angela grimaced, but still said, “I'm ready.”

Verity positioned herself on the far side of the table and leaned across it to take hold of a small handle at the base of the upper section of the cabinet. “Davina, when I finish counting to three, put your hands on the dark grey patches on the side of the cabinet and push, but not so hard that the whole thing tips over.”

At the count of three Verity pulled and Davina pushed, resulting in the upper part of the cabinet and the upper part of Angela being transferred to the table so that her torso was totally out of line with her legs. While this movement occurred Angela let out a most peculiar sound; it started with a squeak of terror, when she felt the edge of the sword touch her waist, but became a squeal of excitement as her top was painlessly divided from her bottom.

“Are you alright, Angela?” the magician queried.

“I don't know. I think so.” Angela leaned forward enough to glimpse her toes down and to her left. “I reckon, if you marketed that as a thrill ride, you'd have them queuing around the block and still have the person you had divided going back to rejoin the queue.”

“You'll be alright there for a moment?”

“Sure.”

“Good.” The magician crossed in front of the cabinet and guided Davina forward. Addressing the audience, Verity asked, “Do you think Davina deserves a go at being cut in half too?” The consensus of the crowd was that she did.

“Alright, Davina, while I get that ready, would you grab this part of the cabinet holding your sister and wheel her around nearer the edge of the stage, so that people can get a better look at her predicament.” While she issued these instructions she appeared to be releasing the wheels under the cabinet. The section she indicated was the side where Angela's upper half rested.

Verity bustled towards the backstage area. Davina went to the end of the cabinet and looked in through the opening. She saw her twin's torso seemed to end at the table top, but could not be quite sure, because the area was surrounded by the white fabric of her costume.

The devil-woman pulled on the cabinet experimentally to discover how unwieldy, or otherwise, it would be to manoeuvre. To everyone's surprise the table section cabinet rolled away from the section that still contained Angela's white-draped legs and her toes of her sandalled feet wriggling in the slot at the bottom. Davina looked at the situation with concern for her sister's safety, but seeing that the angel character did not appeared to have noticed, immediately concluded that this was as it was intended.

It took the crowd a little longer to notice, a development that they greeted with a collective gasp and then a cheer. Angela did not appear to notice anything more than the movement until her sister turned the cabinet so that she could see the half-height cabinet containing her lower half.

Davina enjoyed displaying her sister's upper half; pirouetting the cabinet to show that it was too thin for Angela to be tucked into any hidey-holes and waves her hands between the legs of the supporting table to demonstrate the lack of angel legs.

When Verity returned pushing a very similar cabinet to the centre of the performance area; directly between Angela's halves which were now parked on opposite sides of the dance floor. “Ok, Davina! Time for you to have a go.” She busied herself with opening the doors on the side and front, while Davina consulted with her sister about what it felt like and what to expect. “You ready?” the magician asked.

“Alright, I'm on my way. I guess you want my shoes off.” The latex-clad devil-woman strode the short distance to the awaiting cabinet, managing to remove her shoes smoothly in the process and hand them to Verity as she ducked into the cabinet.

Verity reached around the cabinet to place the ankle boots on the table section on the other side, before latching the door through which Davina had entered. While the magician removed the front doors and moved the boots to under the table. “Now, we're set up.”

“Are you sure?” queried the encased woman. “With Angela you put the sword into the edge of the cabinet to cut her in half as she went across to the bit on the side.”

“Yes, of course. Because I had your help on the outside of the cabinet, I could do the cut and divide in one move, but, without that help, I'll need to do the cut first and then transfer your top half to the side. That's why I've got this blade; it's got a non-stick coating so that you'll slide over with ease.” The blade held up from the back of the cabinet was about two feet square with a handle on one edge and an obviously sharp edge the opposite side. The sharp edge was soon located between the upper and lower parts of the entry door and shoved, without ceremony or warning, to separate the halves of the cabinet and its red-clad occupant.

The noise Davina made as the blade passed through the middle was reminiscent of the whoop of a roller coaster fan experiencing a newer,  more exciting coaster for the first time. Verity put on a frown as if to ask the audience if this was a sound the showed terror or exhilaration.

The magician walked round the back of the illusion and then pulled Davina's upper half from its usual place above her legs and stopped when the top of the cabinet was fully detached from the bottom half by at least a foot; it appeared that while she was behind the cabinet, changing sides, she had unlocked the connection between the lower part of the cabinet and its side table.

Verity paraded Davina's isolated legless torso around the perimeter of the performance area.

“How are you girls doing?” the magician asked.

“I'm ok, at the moment; but you did say we could carry on as normal.”

“Yes, of course. Let's do that now; the audience are getting bored of seeing you two in four pieces. And, like they say, sawing someone in half is the easy part, getting them back together is more difficult.” While she said this, Verity wheeled the twins' upper halves forward so that they were about three feet apart and then moved the lower parts behind the two sisters.

With exaggerated 'don't let them know' mimes Verity parked Davina's latex trousered lower half next to Angela's top and then the white draped legs next to the devil-woman's torso. After a quick round of locking wheels, the magician stepped between the two cabinets and in a single move, pushed Davina's torso away from her, while pulling Angela's top towards her. Moments later she had extracted the blade that cut off Davina's legs.

The applause were almost deafening, but the sisters seemed ignorant of the reason the audience were so enthusiastic about their restoration. Verity unlatched the side doors and invited the twins to exit the boxes and prove to the audience that they were in one piece each. As they stepped from the cabinets, Verity took their hands and led them in a bow. It was not until they were straightening up that the sisters noticed that their lower garments had been switched. It was not until a few seconds later that Angela spotted her gold-painted toe-nails on her sisters feet and correctly leapt to the conclusion that it was no just there clothes that had been switched about, but their legs too.

“As promised, 'something dramatic', but that allows you to continue enjoying the evening unhindered.' So, I see you later to switch you back; in the mean time go and have fun with each others lower halves and meet me back here later to have your legs switched back.