Prelude to Magic: The Prequel to Moonlight and Illusions by Diane Wylie

Author:Diane Wylie
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781476444567
Publisher: Diane Wylie

Chapter Five

Spring 1909

It seemed only yesterday he sat in this very same parlor keeping vigil over the body of his son. Now he had to do the same thing for his brother. Stephen’s eyes burned. Michael was gone at the age of sixty. His trusted older brother and best friend…gone. How cruel life could be.

Michael had been the one to keep the Elliott family intact. If not for his brother’s steadying presence and calm mediation, Ruby would have divorced him after Calvin’s death. The loss of Calvin’s fiancée, whom they had come to love, only added to the sadness. They had not seen Miss Sally Thornton since the day they buried Cal. He had heard the young lady had married two years later and now lived in Boston.

Stephen’s parents, and Ruby’s too, had passed away years before Cal’s accident. All he had left now were Ruby and his magic show. It had been a struggle, even using the Companion Spirit’s power, to keep the show fresh for so many years. He often went on tour just to find new audiences.

Where is Ruby?

The room was silent now. Two tall candlesticks on either side of the fine mahogany coffin gave off muted light. Colorful spring flowers scented the air. All of Michael’s friends and former customers left, but Stephen didn’t know how long they had been gone. He had been caught up in memories, both good and bad. It had been nothing short of miraculous when his learned older brother had finally shown him, a carpenter turned magician, some respect. As “The Illusionist” Stephen had gained notoriety, fame, and financial stability, something he had not ever expected to achieve making furniture.

The best days of his life happened in the early part of his career as a magician when Michael, Ruby, and Calvin traveled with him. It had been exciting, new, and full of promise. Why hadn’t he appreciated those times when they happened?

When had Michael’s hair turned so gray?

Michael had not gone to work that morning. One of his servants found him still in bed, lifeless. The physician told them his brother’s heart had given out in his sleep. Stalwart, uncomplaining Michael…had he suffered at all? Stephen prayed he had not and, although they never spoke of it, he was glad his bachelor brother had been a part of his life for so long. He would sorely miss him and his stuffy ways.

Lord, he was tired. Swiping at the wetness on his cheek, Stephen’s glance fell on the sideboard. He had made the piece of furniture himself, many years before. Without getting up, he gestured at it. The double doors opened. Pantomiming the motions with his hands, the glass decanter of whiskey and a tumbler floated out, held by unseen hands. With a pop, the stopper jerked out of the bottle and the bottle tipped. Amber liquid gurgled into the glass, the stopper jumped back in place, and the decanter eased back into the cabinet. The full glass moved toward his beckoning fingers.

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