Page 206 of Gathered Sparkle

There’s a ripple in both the crowd and the sky as shadows seem to materialize in the air, and everyone cranes their necks to try to make sense of what they’re seeing.

But I know exactly what they are.

Pigeons.

Dozens, no.Hundredsof birds descend onto the empty street, seemingly from thin air, blanketing the asphalt in a writhing, feathery mass.

The audience freezes, captivated by the sight for several long moments before the murmurs of confusion begin.

The towering screens on the Lane Building above us come to life, broadcasting a magnified view of the pigeons below. Feathers flash silver under the Strip’s lights in a display of pure anarchy, yet no one dares move.

“Showtime,” Levi mutters, and the pigeons take flight as if responding to some unseen cue. They rise in a storm of wings and shrill cries, scattering in every direction, leaving the street momentarily empty.

Then the street comes alive, breathing heat and life into the sky as fire erupts from the pavement. The roaring columns of flame shoot skyward, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd. Anonymous faces are illuminated by the fire as the drones capture the entire scene and broadcast it to the screens, the looks of shock and awe turning to starstruck worship as the flames vanish from sight, revealing Levi—with Pebble on his shoulder—and Koen in the exact places the flames had just been.

The applause is instantaneous, a wave of sound crashing over us, a twin to the sound of the flock taking flight mere minutes ago. Levi grins, his smile wide as he waves to the crowd like he’s greeting old friends, dressed in his white glittery suit. Koen only bows slightly, his expression intense and reserved, firmly in his mentalist persona and usual black outfit.

Sylus’s drones switch from the audience’s reaction to the main event, and the twins’ larger-than-life figures light up the Lane Building. Koen’s piercing gaze is magnified to a stunning degree, his overwhelming presence even more commanding at that scale. I rock back on my rollerblades, my back hitting the van as my heart does a flip, unprepared for how breathtaking he looks.

“I want your babies, Koen,” a girl near me exclaims, and I tense as my head snaps in the direction of the sound. Acechuckles as he tugs our intertwined hands and rolls me closer to him.

“Easy, Trouble,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against my temple as he presses a quick kiss there. His teasing cuts through the strange, misplaced flare of irritation in my chest. I swallow hard, forcing myself to look back at the twins and not at Ace or the girl.

Get a grip, Nova.

“Welcome, everyone!” Levi’s voice booms through the air. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? We’ve missed you.” The crowd erupts into cheers, and Levi’s grin widens as he spreads his arms wide and continues, “Tonight’s not just any show. It’s a special one. We’ve got a little magic, a little mischief, and maybe a few surprises. And trust me, you’ll want to stay until the end.”

Ace and I share a knowing look, wordlessly communicating the same thing.

Levi Lane was made for this.

“But tonight’s show isn’t only for you and us.” Levi’s grin softens as he takes a small step forward. “It’s for the man who made all of this possible. Oscar Lane.”

The crowd quiets, the energy seamlessly shifting from electric excitement to quiet reverence.

“Oscar wasn’t just the best magician Vegas has ever seen,” Levi continues. “He was a visionary. A man who didn’t just dream of a better Las Vegas but made it a reality. He brought magic not only to the stage but to people’s lives. He built community. He gave second chances. Everyone here is standing in a city he made brighter.”

Ace lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my waist. I lean into him instinctively, wrapping my arms around his middle. The side of his head comes to rest on top of mine, and I feel his breathing deepen with emotion.

Levi glances at the screens overhead as a black-and-white image of Oscar appears, smiling in an easy, magnetic way that could make anyone believe in the impossible. “It always feels like he’s still here, doesn’t it?” Levi’s voice breaks slightly, but he pushes through it, his posture full of pride. “Not just because of the tricks we still do but because of the lives he touched. The hearts he changed. He might not be with us in body, but his magic lives on in every one of us.”

Koen steps forward and takes his place beside Levi as his twin holds a coin up for the crowd to see. Pebble shifts on his shoulder, ruffling her feathers and letting out a prolonged coo that gets picked up by the microphone.

“Sometimes it spins,” Levi says as he flips the coin high into the air. “And sometimes it falls.” The coin arcs gracefully, glinting silver under the neon lights before…nothing.It’s gone, vanishing mid-flight as if swallowed by the night itself.

There’s another inhale from the crowd followed by a rippling flow of murmured variations of “Where did it go?”

Koen raises his upturned palm to the sky as if summoning something from the void. From nowhere, the coin drops into his waiting hand as if gravity had just remembered it existed. He presents it to the crowd, raising his eyebrow in a subtle, self-assured way, and Levi smiles widely beside him.

The murmurs shift abruptly to gasps and scattered applause, and I can’t help but draw a sharp breath too. The seamless illusion even leaves me awestruck.

“That was Oscar’s signature move,” Ace murmurs beside me, somehow filled with both pride and grief.

A pang of regret tugs at me as I whisper, “I wish I could have known him.”

“I wish you could’ve, too, Sparkle,” Sylus’s voice cuts in softly through the earpiece. “He would’ve loved you.”

Ace squeezes me as if agreeing with him, and then Levi moves, drawing our attention back to the show. He takes the coin from Koen and flicks it into the air again, but this time, it doesn’t vanish or fall. Instead, it hovers in the air, and when Levi raises his hand and points his open palm in its direction, it begins to spin. Pebble lets out an excited trill as the coin goes faster and faster as if caught in some unseen current.

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