Mister Magic by Kiersten White

Author:Kiersten White [White, Kiersten]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Published: 2023-08-08T00:00:00+00:00

“It’s not fair that we have to work during the gala,” complains one of two white men in their mid-thirties sitting in front of a bank of monitors.

The other shrugs.

“There’s not even anyone at the house,” the complainer points out.

The other shrugs. “It’s our duty, Mike.”

Mike flicks idly through the camera feeds, settling on the one in the basement. “I hate missing free food. You don’t get it. You have a wife, so your food is always free.”

This time in place of a shrug, a questioning look.

“I mean, not free, but, like, you don’t have to make it. Or clean up after it. If I want to eat I have to actually do the work myself. I need a wife. You’re lucky you snagged one early. Bliss is too small. Right now my only options are a couple of second cousins. First cousins once removed? I can’t ever remember. And they’re not interested anyway. And all the rest of the single girls are in their mid-twenties. Something wrong with them if they aren’t already taken by then, you know?” Mike runs a hand through his thinning hair, his frown showcasing wrinkles around his eyes and deep lines on his forehead.

The other man shrugs.

“I wish there were more girls in the house right now. What do you think of Val? She’s kind of hot, in a—”

The audio from the monitor crackles. They both jump in their seats, alert. A small voice, distorted, comes in and out like they’re picking up a faint radio signal.

“…make a circle, in the dark, close your eyes, and wish with me, keep them closed, keep them closed, keep them closed, keep them closed…”

The voice skips, repeating that line over and over. But the camera itself isn’t showing anything. Just a view of the chair in the empty room.

Mike wrinkles his nose in disgust. “Man, I hate it when it picks up the echoes like this.” The song fades, still stuck on that one line. After a few minutes, he shakes his head. “I don’t know whether I can still hear it, or if I’m just listening so hard for it that I’m imagining things. Can you still hear it?”

The other man shrugs.

Mike leans close to the speakers, trying to catch anything else. They have to log it all.

“Oh hi!”

“Shit!” He jumps back as his chair clatters to the floor. He spins around, heart racing, trying to find the source of the voice. It was so close, so clear. Like a child standing beside him.

A giggle grows farther and farther away. Still nothing on the video feed.

Mike looks at the other man, who, predictably, shrugs. But there’s a slight, smug grin on his face. Mike’s eyes travel up to the corner and meet the camera. Someone’s always watching. Even the watchers get watched.

Wiping his brow, Mike drags his chair back up and sits shakily down. “Listen, I’m sorry I swore,” he says, more for the camera than his companion. “It startled me. I don’t use language like that.

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