Night of the New Magicians (2 page)

J
ack sat on the porch, reading in the summer twilight. Crickets chirped in the Frog Creek woods. The bell of an ice cream truck jingled down the street.

Annie stepped out the front door. “Let’s go,” she said.

“Where?” said Jack.

“Mom gave us money for ice cream,” said Annie.

“Cool,” said Jack. He pulled on his backpack. Then he followed Annie down the porch steps.
As they headed up the sidewalk, the smell of damp leaves and moss wafted from the woods.

Annie stopped walking. “Listen,” she said.

Jack listened. “What?” he said. “I don’t hear anything.”

“That’s the
point,”
said Annie. “A minute ago, the crickets were blaring away. Now everything’s super quiet.”

Jack listened again. Annie was right. All the Frog Creek woods seemed to be holding its breath.

“Do you think …?” said Jack.

“Maybe,” said Annie, grinning. “Let’s go check!”

Jack and Annie hurried across the street and into the dimly lit woods. They walked quickly between the leafy trees, until they came to the tallest oak. A rope ladder dangled from the tree-top. The magic tree house sat high in the branches, catching the last light of day.

Jack smiled. “I guess ice cream will have to wait,” he said.

“Yep,” said Annie. She grabbed the ladder and climbed up. Jack climbed up after her.

Inside the tree house, dusky light filtered through the window. Lying on the wooden floor was a folded piece of paper and a slim book with a red cover.

Annie grabbed the paper. Jack picked up the book. “This must be a research book from Morgan,” he said.

The book’s title was written in gold letters:

“Paris World’s Fair?” said Jack.

“That sounds like fun!” said Annie.

“Yeah, but I wonder why we’re going there,” said Jack.

“This should tell us,” said Annie. She unfolded the paper. “It’s Merlin’s handwriting.” She read aloud:

“Our mission sounds more like a fairy tale than real life,” said Jack. “An evil sorcerer. Magicians of the Invisible, Light, Sound, and Iron. They sound like they belong in a magical place like Camelot, not a real place like Paris, France.”

“But we’re going to a World’s Fair,” said Annie. “That sounds kind of magical, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe,” said Jack. “But why do such powerful magicians need our help in the first place? Why can’t they defeat the evil sorcerer with their own powers?”

“Maybe the sorcerer’s power is stronger than theirs,” said Annie.

“So maybe we can help them with Teddy and Kathleen’s rhymes,” said Jack.

Annie gasped. “Oh, no! We need the rhyme book! We have to go back home and get it!”

“Don’t worry, I have it,” said Jack. “Ever since we got back from Baghdad, I’ve been taking it with me everywhere I go—-just in case Merlin sends for us.”

“Whew,” said Annie. “Let’s take a look.”

Jack reached into his backpack. He pulled out the small book written by their two young sorcerer friends from Camelot:

Jack turned to the table of contents. “Okay, we’ve used five rhymes on our last two missions,” he said. “So we have five left for the next two. We haven’t used
Spin into the Air
, or
Make Something Disappear
, or
Pull a Cloud from the
Sky
, or
Find a Treasure You Must Never Lose
, or
Turn into Ducks.”

“Quack! Quack!”

Jack looked up.

“Just kidding,” said Annie.

“You’d better not make jokes about these rhymes,” Jack said. “You might end up saying the wrong one at the wrong time and really get us in trouble.” He closed the rhyme book. “Ready to go?”

“Ready,” said Annie.

Jack took a deep breath and picked up the guide book to the 1889 Paris World’s Fair. He pointed to the title. “I wish we could go there,” he said.

The wind started to blow.

The tree house started to spin.

It spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

J
ack opened his eyes. The scent of roses floated through the warm twilight. Jack was wearing an old-fashioned cap, a rust-colored jacket, and knee-length pants. His backpack had turned into a leather satchel.

Annie was wearing a puffy white blouse and a long purple skirt with a ruffle. “Look, there’s the Eiffel Tower,” she said.

Jack looked. They had landed in a park filled with trees. Beyond the park, rising into the sky, was a tall tower with lights beaming from the top.

“That’s the Eiffel Tower, all right,” said Jack.
“But where’s the World’s Fair?” He opened their guide book and found a map. “Oh, great, it looks like the fair is directly below the tower. That should make it easy to find.”

“Let’s get going,” said Annie.

“Wait, we need to go over what we have to do on our mission,” said Jack.

“It’s simple,” said Annie. “We have to find the Magician of Sound, the Magician of Light, the Magician of the Invisible, and the Magician of Iron. We have to warn them about the evil sorcerer and then learn their secrets for Merlin.”

“That doesn’t sound simple to me,” said Jack. “It sounds like a huge responsibility.”

“So we’d better start
now,”
said Annie. “Come on.” Annie led the way down the tree house ladder.

Jack put their World’s Fair guide into his satchel, along with their letter from Merlin and the book of rhymes from Teddy and Kathleen.
Then he followed Annie down the ladder.

As Jack and Annie started across the park, a clinking sound came from Annie’s skirt pocket. She reached into the pocket and pulled out a handful of coins. “Hey, our ice cream money got changed into French coins!” she said.

“Good,” said Jack. “We might need them at the fair.”

Jack and Annie followed a gravel path that led out of the park and onto an avenue lit by gas streetlamps. Horse-drawn carriages and old-fashioned bicycles clattered over the cobblestones. They all seemed to be headed toward a crowded bridge that crossed a wide river.

Boats were gliding down the river, their lights reflecting in the water. On the far side of the river, thousands of tiny lamps twinkled along the bank. The Eiffel Tower glowed in the silver twilight.

“Paris is so beautiful,” said Annie.

“No kidding,” said Jack. “Let’s cross that
bridge to the fair.” They hurried to join the people streaming across the bridge.

Jack and Annie blended in easily with the happy crowd. The kids in the crowd were all wearing clothes like theirs. Most of the men wore black top hats and black coats and pants. The women wore hats as big as flower baskets. Their long, colorful dresses puffed out in back.

There seemed to be visitors from many countries. Jack saw Chinese straw hats, Dutch caps, several Indian turbans, and a Mexican sombrero.

“This reminds me of the carnival we went to in Venice,” said Annie.

“Me too,” said Jack. “Except in Venice, people were wearing costumes. Here, they’re wearing their real clothes. Remember, this is a
world’s
fair.”

“Cool,” said Annie.

Jack looked around. How would they recognize the four new magicians? he wondered. Would they be dressed like people from Paris?
Or people from another country? Or would they look like Merlin or Morgan in flowing medieval robes? And what about the evil sorcerer?

“Looks like we buy our tickets over there,” said Annie as they reached the end of the bridge.

Jack and Annie headed for a ticket booth near an entrance gate. Above the gate, a giant banner read:

As they stood in line waiting to buy tickets, Jack pulled out their guide book. “We need to prepare for our mission,” he said. He turned to the first page and read aloud:

“Maybe some of the exhibits are magic shows,” said Annie. “And that’s where we’ll find the new magicians.”

“Maybe,” said Jack. He kept reading:

Jack looked up. “Hmm,” he said. “It sounds like this fair is mainly about inventions and scientific stuff. I don’t see anything here about magic or magicians.”

“How many?” the ticket seller asked gruffly. They had reached the front of the line.

Annie held out a handful of French coins. “Two, please,” she said.

The ticket seller took two coins. Annie put the remaining change back into her pocket. Then she and Jack walked through the gate into the 1889 Paris World’s Fair.

“
W
ow,” said Jack and Annie together.

Inside the crowded fairgrounds, below the looming Eiffel Tower, a band played a lively march. Fountains shot colored water high into the sky. A small train chugged through the crowd, blowing its whistle.

People of all ages from many different countries bustled about in the twilight. Everyone seemed to be having fun, reading from guide books, strolling from one exhibit to another, or buying refreshments and souvenirs.

“We can’t see much from here,” said Annie. “It’s hard to know what’s going on.”

“What about that little train?” said Jack. “Maybe we could ride on it and get a good look at everything.”

“Great idea,” said Annie.

The train whistle blew again.

“Over there,” said Jack. He pointed to a clear space where passengers were getting off the train and other passengers were boarding.

“Hurry!” said Jack.

They raced to the train and jumped on. Annie dug into her pocket and took out some coins. She held them out to the conductor. He took a few, and Jack and Annie squeezed into seats on a wooden bench. The whistle blew, steam sputtered out of the smokestack, and the small train began to move.

“Look for anything about magic or magicians,” said Jack.

As the train slowly chugged through the
World’s Fair, a tour guide’s voice blared from a megaphone: “Welcome to the World’s Fair Sightseeing Train! On your ride, you will witness the astounding history of human structures as seen nowhere else! In every age, buildings had style and beauty.”

The train chugged by cave dwellings, canvas tents, and huts made of mud.

Magic? Magicians?
Jack thought as he looked at the different structures.
No, no, no.

The train passed a thatched cottage, a mansion with columns, and a palace with a huge golden dome.

No, no, no
, Jack thought.

“Now we will visit the many lands of the world,” said the tour guide. “First, Egypt!”

The train chugged past an outdoor café. Smells of grilled meat and rich coffee filled the air. Three women with veils over their faces danced to flute music.

No magicians there
, thought Jack.

“Next we have an African village on the beautiful Serengeti Plain,” said the tour guide. They passed a cluster of huts surrounded by tall grass. People played drums and shook gourd rattles.
Still no magicians
, thought Jack.

“And now we visit a New Year’s festival in faraway China,” said the guide. The train chugged by Chinese acrobats and a huge dancing red dragon.

“Dragons are sort of magic, aren’t they?” said Annie, looking back.

“It’s just a couple of guys in a costume,” said Jack. “That doesn’t count.”

“On our left is a Muslim mosque,” the tour guide said. “On the right, a Buddhist temple. Here is an exquisite Japanese garden….”

“No, no, no,” murmured Jack.

The train passed by a show with dolls dressed in outfits from all around the world. It rolled by a giant brown statue of a woman. “This amazing creation is the Roman goddess Venus,” said the tour guide, “made entirely of chocolate.”

“That
is
amazing!” said Annie.

“It is, but it’s not magic,” said Jack.

The train rode by a globe of the world at least three stories high. The globe was turning slowly. “See the lovely mountains, deserts, rivers, and oceans of Earth,” said the tour guide.

“This fair really
is
a living encyclopedia!” Annie said.

“But the encyclopedia doesn’t have what we need to find,” said Jack. He sighed and started
thumbing through the guide book.

“Ahh, fantastic!” a train passenger said.

“Shocking!” said another.

“Magical!” exclaimed another.

Jack looked up. “Did someone just say
magical
?” he asked Annie.

“False alarm,” said Annie. “They’re talking about the Eiffel Tower.”

The train came to a stop. All the passengers were gazing up. Pink lights lit the huge arches at the base of the tower.

“The Eiffel Tower was built especially for this World’s Fair,” said the tour guide. “The tower is nearly one thousand feet high, making it the tallest structure in the world today. Some of you may want to leave us here to get a closer look at Paris’s newest miracle.”

People began climbing off the train. “Maybe we should get off here, too,” said Jack. “This train isn’t much help.”

Jack and Annie jumped off the train just
before its whistle blew and it started moving again.

“That’s a tall tower,” said Jack, looking up.

“Really
tall,” breathed Annie.

Iron rods rose in crisscross patterns high into the sky. Large elevators clanked up through the tower’s lacy ironwork. Powerful spotlights beamed from the top of the tower, sweeping long fingers of light over the city.

“It would be fun to ride to the top in one of those elevators,” said Annie.

“I know, but we don’t have time,” said Jack. “We have to find the four new magicians before the evil sorcerer finds them.”

“I wonder if he’s here yet,” said Annie.

Jack and Annie looked around at all the people busily moving about the fairgrounds, going from one exhibit to another. Parents were holding their children’s hands and pointing to the tower. Couples were strolling arm in arm. Everyone seemed happy and excited.

No one looks like an evil sorcerer
, thought Jack.
No one looks like a Magician of Sound, or a Magician of Light, or a Magician of the Invisible, or a Magician of Iron, either.

Jack’s thoughts were interrupted by a young girl’s voice—“You see, Papa? It is magic!”

“Magic?”
said Jack. He and Annie looked at each other.

“Over there,” said Annie. She pointed to a nearby exhibit. A little girl was laughing as her father pressed a pair of earpieces against his ears.

Jack and Annie walked closer to the exhibit. “It is positively unbelievable, Mimi!” the man said, shaking his head.

“It’s magic, isn’t it, Papa?” said the girl. “It can send a voice a thousand miles!”

Annie grabbed Jack’s arm. “Did you hear what she just said?” she whispered.
“Send a voice a thousand miles—
that’s what the Magician of Sound does!”

“Right!” said Jack. He and Annie looked at the sign above the exhibit. It said:

“She’s talking about a
telephone
!” said Jack. “I guess it’s just been invented!”

“So Alexander Graham Bell must be the Magician of Sound!” said Annie.

“Oh, man, do you think Alexander Graham Bell is here in person?” said Jack.

“I’ll ask,” said Annie. She walked to a gray-haired woman helping with the exhibit. “Excuse me, but do you know where we can find Alexander Graham Bell?”

“I’m afraid he just left,” said the woman.

“Where did he go?” asked Annie.

“I do not know,” said the woman. “A strange man gave me an invitation to give to Mr. Bell. When Mr. Bell read it, he left at once. That is all I know. Excuse me.” The woman turned away to answer someone else’s question.

“Alexander Graham Bell!” Jack said to Annie. “He’s a famous inventor, not a magician!”

“The evil sorcerer must’ve heard about the telephone and thought it was magic,” said Annie.

“I wonder what that invitation said,” said Jack. “And why did that lady say the messenger was strange?”

“Let’s ask,” said Annie.

Annie tapped the gray-haired woman on the arm. “Excuse me, we have two more questions,” she said. “Do you know what was on the invitation? And why did you say the messenger was strange?”

“I do not know what the invitation said,” replied the woman, “but the man who delivered it was dressed in a long, dark cloak. He wore a hood that hid most of his face, and he spoke in a deep, whispery voice.”

Jack felt a chill go down his spine.
So that’s what the evil sorcerer looks like
, he thought.
Just like you’d expect!

“Sounds like the sorcerer,” Annie whispered to Jack.

“I know, I know,” Jack said, looking around.

“Do you have any idea where the strange
man in the cloak went?” Annie asked the woman.

“He asked for directions to the Hall of Machines,” said the woman.

“Where’s that?” asked Jack. “Is that here at the fair?”

“Yes, of course. It is the gigantic building made of glass. Can you see the roof?” The woman pointed to an arched glass rooftop looming above other fair buildings in the distance.

“I see it,” said Annie.

“Good,” said the woman. “Excuse me now. I must help some other people.”

“Sure, thanks,” said Annie. “Let’s go,” she said to Jack. She started walking quickly across the fairgrounds.

“Wait, wait, wait,” said Jack, hurrying after her.

“The messenger is the sorcerer, I just know it!” said Annie.

“Of course he is,” said Jack. “But what do we do when we find him?”

“I don’t know yet,” said Annie.

“He could be dangerous,” said Jack. “We need to make a plan.”

“We need to find him first,” said Annie, “before he gets away! Hurry!” She broke into a run and dashed toward the Hall of Machines.