Magical Mechanications by Philippa Ballantine

Author:Philippa Ballantine [Ballantine, Philippa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Steampunk
ISBN: 9781539382478
Amazon: 1539382478
Barnesnoble: 1539382478
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Published: 2016-10-11T23:00:00+00:00

Six

Jaha was taking a deep bow at the ovation his illusion earned. He had, effectively, parted one of the Sultan’s harem in half. Impressive, as it was one of his ladies and not someone directly under the influence of power of the All Powerful. Aladdin had to admit that.

What had he told him? You hardly believe in such nonsense as magic, séances, and the like? A Frenchman named Robert-Houdin that opened my eyes at what many perceived as ‘magic.’

The boy took a deep breath. He would have one chance, one moment. He had to make certain it was the right moment. An eye-opening moment.

“And now, for my final trick of the evening,” Jaha announced, raising his arms at the soft protestations—only an illusionist of his caliber could hush a Sultan. He then motioned to the ruler. “Tonight, though, I turn to you, Your Majesty, to assist me.”

The Sultan clapped his hands. “Excellent. What is my part in your grand magic, All Powerful Jaha?”

He raised his hands and slowly pulled from his cabinet a pistol, one of the more modern ones no doubt brought from his European travels. The Sultan’s guards immediately stepped forward, their hands working the bolts on their own antiquated rifles.

“Oh please, you believe the All Powerful Jaha would dare to assassinate me in a theatre full of people?” Aladdin watched as the Sultan parted the guards and slapped them both in turn. “If you did not kill him where he stood, I believe my people love me enough that they would tear him apart.” Hefting his belly, the Sultan proceeded from where his harem and guards watched the performance and joined the magician on the stage, motioning for his subjects to rise. “Arise, my subjects, lest you miss the magic.”

Over an uneasy laughter Jaha began, taking a step back while opening the chamber and presenting the weapon. “Your Majesty, I will ask of you to take aim at my heart and fire the pistol.”

Another gasp and a few screams rose from the audience while the Sultan looked at the weapon with horror.

“Do not fear, Your Majesty. Do not fear,” Jaha assured him. “I promise you the bullet will not reach me. Instead, I will catch it in mid-air, much like you have seen with Masters of the Far East.”

“But…” the Sultan stammered, still looking at the pistol. Aladdin had never saw the Sultan sweat; an amazing feat from Jaha. “But the bullet…”

“Yes, I know,” Jaha said with a charming smile, “but you must trust me and my skill.”

Aladdin bit his bottom lip. A Frenchman named Robert-Houdin that opened my eyes at what many perceived as ‘magic.’ It was a matter of perception. He watched as Jaha loaded the weapon in front of the Sultan, his words explaining exactly what he needed the Sultan to do.

Somewhere in the midst of instruction, Aladdin took notice of Jaha’s hands. It was a simple sleight of hand from the streets, the streets he knew all too well, but an eye such as his caught it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.