said.
“Yeah, what about the secrets we revealed?” Izzy echoed.
Mr. Vernon took another breath from his mask, then began coughing violently. Leila rubbed his hand as the Other Mr. Vernon rang for a nurse.
“We’re sorry, Mr. Vernon!” said Olly.
“Never mind!” Izzy added.
“No, no,” Mr. Vernon replied between coughs. “It is only—ha—only that—”
“Stop trying to speak, for goodness’ sake, Dante,” the Other Mr. Vernon chided.
Bent almost double, Mr. Vernon let out a sudden “Ha! Haha! I’m sorry, everyone. It’s only that the thought of Olly and Izzy not being funny is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. No one has ever made me laugh as hard as the two of you.”
Izzy and Olly beamed.
“Thanks a lot, Mr. Vernon,” Ridley said, though she was grinning too. “There’ll be no stopping their shenanigans now.”
When Ridley left the room to call her mother, she noticed a black mark on her palm. Looking closer, she saw that it was Mr. Vernon’s symbol—the ace of spades. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Even in his sorry condition, Mr. Vernon was still trying to make magic.
(Haven’t I told you from the beginning that the world will always need more magic?)
Mrs. Larsen answered the phone after the first ring. “Ridley?” She sounded upset.
“Hi, Mom,” she said, trying to tamp down the quaver in her throat.
“Where are you?”
“There was… an incident. At the hotel. Everything is fine, but Mr. Vernon is at the hospital. My friends and I are staying with him for a while.”
Without hesitation, Mrs. Larsen answered, “All right. I’m on my way.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you soon.”
Ridley hung up the phone and was halfway back to Mr. Vernon’s room before realizing her mother hadn’t rambled even once.
HOW TO…
Guess a Card in the Middle of the Deck
After being put through the emotional ringer, I bet you’re ready for another magic lesson. I know I am! And this is a favorite of mine, because once you practice it to perfection, you can use it as the base for many other tricks to impress your friends, family, and random passersby. Just like any sport or other skill, when you master a basic move, you’re well on your way to mastering even bigger and better ones. Now enough jabbering—let’s learn how to guess an audience member’s card from the middle of the deck.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
A deck of cards
A roll of tape
A volunteer
TO PREPARE:
1. For this trick, you’ll need to create a double-backed card. Simply take two cards from the deck and tape them together so that the backs of the cards are both facing outward.
2. Memorize the card on the top of the deck. (For example, let’s say it’s the king of hearts.)
3. Turn the top card over so that it alone is facing up.
4. Place the double-backed card on top of the top card.
STEPS:
1. Explain to your volunteer that you will attempt to guess their card.
2. Briefly show the deck to the volunteer, then use your thumb to riffle through the cards.
3. Ask them to tell you when to stop riffling. Point to the card you’ve stopped on and tell the volunteer that this is the card they’ve picked.
4. Separate the deck into two piles. Point out that the card they’ve “picked” is on top of the second pile.
5. Turn the first pile over and place it on top of the second pile, explaining that this is how you’re “marking” their card.
SECRET MAGIC MOVE
Turning the first pile over will invert the first two cards of the deck, the double-backer and the card you’ve memorized—in this case, the king of hearts. All the cards in the first pile will now be facing up, except for the two inverted cards.
6. Shuffle through the faceup cards until you get to the first facedown card. Your volunteer will think that this is the card they stopped on.
7. Concentrate on “guessing” the card (really play it up!) and then tell your volunteer that you’re sure they’ve chosen the king of hearts, or whichever card you’ve forced them to choose.
8. Turn the card over. Wow them!
9. Take a well-deserved bow!
TWENTY-FIVE
A couple of days later, Leila and Carter invited Ridley to see the spot where the Vernons were considering rebuilding the magic shop. This was news to Ridley, so she begged Ms. Parkly to take her after their lessons were finished.
A taxi brought them up the road into the hills past the Grand Oak Resort. The car let them off at the foot of a long driveway that stretched up a slope where