Mundane Magic by Ramy Vance & Michael Anderle

Author:Ramy Vance & Michael Anderle [Vance, Ramy & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2024-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

Ma dug through and emptied the backstage trash cans one after the other. After going through three of the four, she found no black ash substances in any of them. Now there was only one can left, and she didn’t hold out much hope of it containing anything.

The glittering black ash stuff had not been an illusion like Fogle’s act. If someone swept it up, maybe they knew what it was and took it with them in a baggie or something. Perhaps someone had infected the crystal with the black dots backstage before Fogle’s performance. Or after the showrunner had unpacked the crystal the night before the magic show. Or, there was the annoying possibility that the pile of black dust she saw was nothing but dirt.

Ugh, she didn’t want to draw incorrect conclusions, but her gut insisted the ash was connected to their problem. It was only a matter of time before Fogle’s temporary bandage spell wore off, and zombie fans flocked to him again.

She was dumping out the last trash can’s contents when she saw it. It looked like dried coffee grounds. After bending toward it, she sniffed.

It was coffee grounds.

“Probably one of the security guards,” Fogle commented. “They like their coffee.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Poly said.

Ma brushed the coffee grounds on her fingers against her pants. “I didn’t smell coffee grounds on the floor during the show. I guess that might be what it was. I’m not sure what to do now. The shaman made it clear she couldn’t help us any further.”

“You’re saying we’ve hit a dead end?” Fogle asked.

“Aha!” a loud voice suddenly called from the lobby. It was Gustav. A few moments later, he appeared in one of the doorways separating the lobby from the theater. “I think I found something.”

Ma, Poly, and Fogle hurried up the aisle into the lobby.

“It’s not coffee grounds, is it?” Poly wrinkled her nose.

The wraith shook his head and led them to a small door off to the side. He opened the door, and they stepped into a hallway. On the floor, a short trail of glittering black ash led to another door.

With a thumping heart, Ma ran in front of them. She dropped to her hands and knees and sniffed the glittery substance. Whatever it was, it wasn’t coffee grounds. She poked it with her finger and found it resembled ash. She rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger, studying it, but she didn’t know what she was looking for.

For a moment, she was lightheaded. Then she thought she heard a voice whispering from the ash trail. She shook her head, and the sensations vanished.

She wiped the residue on her jeans and stood. She tried the doorknob. The trail led to this door, and she suspected it was locked. It wasn’t though. She opened it and flipped on the lights inside. It looked like a small meeting room, maybe for the theater’s security guards, and was empty. No furniture. No ash.

“I don’t get it. Why would the trail disappear like this?”

No one else had any idea.

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