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“And now, if you will exaician requested “All of it I wish you to assure the audience that there are no hidden trapdoors”

Aot down on their hands and knees and crawled around the stage, running their hands over the floorboards One by one, they gained their feet

“Are you all quite satisfied?” Renaldo asked

The ician turned to face the audience once more “May I please have fourwith shouts of “Over here” and “Pick e, the ician pointed to one of the men and said, “I would like you toAnywhere at all On the stage, of course,” he added with a s the door, he pushed it toward the hts as possible

“Very good,” the Remarkable Renaldo said He turned to the other volunteers “If you will all follow me, I would like you to form a circle around the door so that you will be able to see ician, wondering if heher mind, he turned toward her and smiled “You, too, my little lady,” he said with a courtly bow

Everyone on the stagea loose circle around it

Savanah felt her cheeks flush with heat as she took a place in the circle, with her father on her right and another e were focused on the ician as he stepped into their midst and instructed them to hold hands

When they complied, the Reh the opening, waved to the crowd, and then closed the door

“I hope you have enjoyed this evening’s perfor out at the audience, “but the ti, he opened the door and stepped across the threshold

And disappeared froht

Chapter One

Northern California, sixteen years later

Savanah Gentry stared at the stage, her eyes narrowed as she studied the ician who strutted back and forth This ti black hair pulled away from his face and his attire was a little different, but she kneas the same man she had seen on a number of other occasions under a variety of naht black trousers, a whiteto his upper body like a second skin, and a pair of knee-high black leather boots, he was the most handsome man Savanah had ever seen She had seen him at least a dozen times in the last sixteen years, thanks to her father’s fascination with ued by the art of h she knew none of it was real, and that the ah collusion with a ht of hand She knew David Copperfield hadn’t really made the Statue of Liberty disappear, but she had been aic was a tay street, with theto perform a trick that was so incredibly clever it would completely baffle the audience, while the audience let itself be entertained by an effect they kneas accoic, illusion, and the Supernatural bordered on obsession, surpassing even his daughter’s interest He see hinificent, and had, in fact, coician’s career over the last sixteen years Of course, finding the h the years had been hit and ed his name And now Renaldo or Zander or Antoine or whoever he as in Kelton again, albeit under yet a different name