Page 212 of Gathered Sparkle

I should followher.

I’ll always follow her.

Nova glances back at me as if hearing my thoughts, and her green eyes anchor me more than anything else could.

Levi’s voice booms over the speakers. “When I was fifteen, Uncle Oscar gave me a deck of cards. That deck started everything, this entire journey that brought me here, to this stage, to you. It led me to become the greatest magician of all time.” There’s a pause, and Koen clears his throat audibly, the mic picking it up. Levi grins, chuckling. “Oh, fine.One of thegreatest magicians of all time.”

The crowd bursts into laughter, and I catch a soft chuckle from Nova through the earpiece.

Levi spreads his arms wide, making Pebble flutter for balance, his voice taking on a dramatic tone. “I want you all to make some magic with us tonight. I want you to play with a deck of cards, and maybe in fifteen years, you’ll be the one standing in front of a crowd, pulling off something incredible. Who knows?”

“Our assistants are coming around to you right now,” Koen announces.

“Grab a deck of cards.” Levi takes over the instructions. “And when you’ve got one, hold it up in the air so I can see that everyone’s ready.”

Nova’s approach to the crowd is direct, gliding up to groups and handing out decks with ease, but I keep the bucket at arm’s length, offering it for people to grab a deck themselves. The thought of touching anyone, even accidentally, sends a ripple of discomfort through me. Her bucket is already half empty by the time I spot Ezra standing to the side with a group of cops, but I don’t stop. He watches me, his sharp eyes tracking my every move as I glide past, offering the bucket to others but skipping him and his officers entirely.

Ahead, I spot Nova handing a deck to Nicholas. He’s doing a good job looking bored as hell as he takes the cards from her,his fingers brushing hers briefly, but she doesn’t linger and is already moving to the next person.

My bucket grows lighter as I hand out the remaining decks, watching as more and more arms stretch into the air, each one clutching a brand-new pack of cards. By the time the last deck is gone, I’ve long since narrowed my focus on the task, my only goal being to empty the bucket.

“Wow, that’s pretty amazing!” Levi beams. “Thank you all for participating. Everybody, open up your box and take all of the cards out. Hold them in your hand, face down, like me.”

On the screen of the Lane Building, Levi demonstrates, pulling the cards from his box and holding the deck neatly in his hand. His motions are exaggerated, playful, and the crowd eagerly follows along.

Nova and I circle back to the van, slipping into the shadows where the crowd can’t see us. The buckets hit the ground with a dull thud, and I exhale slowly, rolling my shoulders to shake off the tension as I pull off my mask.

“Quick work,” Nova praises, her voice muffled slightly by the mask before she pulls it off and crouches down to slip off her rollerblades. “You were right. So much faster than we would have been on foot.”

I grunt in agreement, following suit. The relief is instant as I tug off the skates, swapping them for the black sneakers I had in my bag.

“Make sure the box is empty.” Levi continues the act. “Don’t leave a single card in there. Then toss the box aside. Just keep the cards.” The audience rustles with motion, and Levi grins. “Is everybody holding the deck face down in their hand like me?”

A loudwhooshand a collective “Yes!”echoes back from the crowd.

I glance at Nova as she laces up her sneakers. The show’s back in full swing, and for the moment, we’ve done our part.

“Great! Here’s what I want you to do now,” Levi continues. “Take a small group of cards, cut the deck, and turn it over to reveal a card. Just like this.” He flips the top pile of his deck, holding up the revealed card for all to see. “Five of Spades. If your card is the Five of Spades and you’re matching me, the odds of that are one in fifty-two!”

The crowd erupts into a mix of cheers and laughter as people hold up their matching cards, waving them in the air for others to see.

“We got some matches! Great!” Levi beams, pointing toward the crowd as he acknowledges the participants. “Okay, now everybody put that pile face up, just like this, on top of the face down deck in your hand.”

Sylus zooms in on the drone’s camera to Levi’s hands as he demonstrates. “Now you’ve got your card face up. Let’s say you cut ten cards. This time, I want you to cutdeeperthan you previously did. Then, turn to a new card.”

He flips a new pile dramatically, revealing a Queen of Hearts. “Let’s see if anyone matches me twice! If you match me this time, the odds of that are one in the thousands.”

The crowd chuckles as some people glance at their new cards. There’s a murmur, but no one raises their hand.

“No one?” Levi teases, looking around.

“What a surprise,” Koen says sarcastically, earning a wave of laughter from the crowd.

“All right,” Levi cuts in with a laugh. “Everybody, take this pile with your new card facing up and put it face down on top of the pile that’s in your other hand. Just like this. You all do that? Perfect!”

Levi’s eyes sweep over the audience as he points seemingly randomly toward Annabelle standing near the front. “The lady with the pink sweater? Yes, ma’am, could you please tell me a number between one and five?”

“Three!” she shouts back with a wide grin.

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