Short Story Fiction
Shazaam
Scott A. Gese

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He didn't realize the wand was cursed.

The Great Hans Merlin was a magician at the peak of his career. His international shows were drawing thousands and his shows in America were always sold out. It was after one of his events in San Francisco when he was first approached by a young man who knew him well. The Great Merlin on the other hand didn't know the young man at all.

“I've been told you are a collector of magic wands,” stated the young man.

It peaked his interest. “Do I know you?” Asked Merlin.

“No but I know you. I have something you might be interested in.” As if out of nowhere a box suddenly appeared in the young man's hand.

“Nicely done,” complimented Merlin. “What is this?”

“It's a magic wand I thought you might be interested in.” The young man opened the box to reveal an exquisite looking wand laid on a bed of black velvet cloth.

Merlin's eyes were instantly drawn to the wand. “Oh my, may I?” Merlin picked up the wand to examine it more closely. “Beautiful.”

Merlin examined the wand. It was highly polished and intricately carved with a crescent moon and stars. The young man mentioned how it was exactly thirteen inches long and made from the branch of an ancient holly tree.

Merlin had to have it. “How much do you want for it?” He asked.

“Normally I would want five hundred but for you three fifty.”

“Sold, and worth every penny I might add.”

The two men settled up and the Great Hans Merlin walked away with his new purchase. As he did with all of his wands he signed a slip of paper proving the wand was his and slipped it into the box.

At his very next performance, Merlin decided to try out his newest purchase. Everything was working smoothly. It was the last trick of the night. Merlin was going to make is wife who was also his assistant disappear. He showed his audience all sides of the box she would be stepping into and assured them there was no way to get out. His assistant stepped inside and the door was shut and locked. A few words to the audience and Merlin took his new wand, waved it about, touched it to the box and called out “SHAZAAM!”

The box was unlocked, the door was opened and sure enough the assistant was gone. “Do you want me to bring her back?” He asked his audience.

The answer was a resounding YES! Merlin repeated the same procedure, tapped the box with his wand and again called out “SHAZAAM!”

The box was opened but to his surprise the assistant was not in the box. It was intentional. He feigned concern with his audience. “Shall we try it one more time?” He asked.

Again the reply was yes. Merlin went through the procedure one more time. He knew she would be there this time around. When the door was opened she was still not in the box. This wasn't part of the trick. Merlin wondered to himself what happened. Had his assistant somehow missed her timing and was unable to get back through the trap door built into the stage. It was highly unusual and Merlin needed to improvise.

“Well, it looks as if I will have to go and retrieve my assistant.” There was another assistant of Merlin's who had been planted in the audience. Merlin called him onto the stage and gave him instructions. “I am going to step into the box. You lock it, tap the box and call out the magic word, SHAZAAM.”

Under his breath he told the man to give him a couple of minutes before he reopened the box. The assistant played his part well. As soon as the box was closed Merlin tried to open the trap door but it was stuck. After a few hard tugs it broke loose. He lowered himself down through the trap door. As soon as his feet hit the ground he knew something wasn't right. This was not under the stage. He was outside. As he stood there perplexed he was approached by his assistant/wife. “You're not going to believe this. Follow me.” A doorway appeared before them and they stepped through. Merlin was amazed at what he was seeing.

Meanwhile:

On stage the audience member followed Merlin's instructions. When he reopened the box it was empty. He didn't know what to do. The audience clapped. They thought it was part of the act. The assistant tried one more time. The results were the same. After some confusion and discussion on stage the audience became restless and began to murmur among themselves. The MC came out and assured the crowd everything was alright but that the show had come to an end. He thanked them all for coming and the curtain was closed. The crowd thought it was an odd way to end the performance. They were all extremely confused as they eventually got up and left the theater.

The papers had a field day. “Vanished into Thin Air” was the headline of the day. Rumors and speculation were rampant. No one really knew for sure what had happened. The Great Hans Merlin and his wife had disappeared. They were never seen or heard from again.

~~~

Several years later

The Great Madinie walked off the stage. Half of his small audience clapped politely. The other half didn't bother to wait until the curtain had fully closed. They got up and and walked out somewhat disappointed. Not worth the price of admission was the general consensus.

The Great Madinie walked back to his dressing room and slumped into an overstuffed chair that sat in the corner. His assistant, Tina, followed him in.

“What happened? You were suppose to disappear?” He asked.

“What... you think I don't know that? The trap door was stuck,” complained Tina. “There was nothing I could do. What about that broken wand trick? I thought that thing was supposed to mend itself. I actually heard someone boo when that didn't work out.”

“It was. I broke the wrong one. Now I need to get a new wand.”

“Get one that has some real power behind it. If we don't turn things around in a hurry, we're doomed.”

“If only that were possible. This smoke and mirrors routine is losing its appeal on my audience. I need to either improve on what I've got or come up with some better tricks. Maybe both.”

The following day Myron Pixor was behind the counter at his magic shop when a customer walked through the door. Myron knew who it was. “Well well, if it isn't the 'Great Madinie'. I caught your show last night. You sucked.”

“Gee, thanks for the glowing review. I'll remember that next time you want a couple of complimentary tickets.”

“Listen, you're a friend. But I'll tell you what. I dodged a bullet last night by going alone. If I had taken a date to that show I would have come off as a bigger fool than you.”

“Ok, you're right. I need to make some changes. In the mean time I need a new wand.”

“Oh ya. I know that trick. You should have seen the expression on your face when you realized you had broken the wrong wand. Priceless I tell you. Priceless!”

“Ya ya, whatever. What have you got?”

“How much do you want to spend? At the low end I've got the latest Harry Potter knock-off in a dozen styles or at the high end I just so happen to have something I've been holding onto for a special occasion. This might be it.” Myron threw a cloth over his hand. When he removed it he was holding onto a slender box. “What do you think?”

“About the box or that amateurish trick you just used to present it?”

Myron was somewhat insulted. “I thought I did pretty darn well with that trick?”

“It could have been done better, but you're getting there. What have you got?”

Myron set the box on the counter and opened it. On a bed of black velvet lay a wand like none Madinie had ever seen. A very light colored stick of hand carved wood so highly polished it sparkled. Madinie picked it up to admire its intricate carvings against the light of day.

Myron began to tell him about the wand. “It's thirteen inches long and made from the branch of an ancient holly tree. The guy that brought it in said it once belonged to the Great Hans Merlin.”

“Hans Merlin? No way. That guy was the best I've ever seen. So weird how he and his wife disappeared. I wonder what happened to them?”

“I don't know. I've heard a lot of rumors. You know he's not the only one. Several other lesser known magicians have vanished in just the same way over the years. That's what makes it really weird. Almost worthy of an X-Files episode.” Myron stopped talking, pulled back the black velvet and retrieved a slip of paper from underneath.

“Here, look at this. It's proof that I'm not kidding. This paper authenticates it.”

Madinie looked the paper over. “It looks authentic and he's signed off on it... I guess it's his signature.”

“It's his. I went online and compared it to one I know to be legit.”

“It is nice. What are you asking for it?”

“Well, this once belonged to the Great Hans Merlin. That in itself adds value. Just look at the grain of the wood. This is a quality wand.”

“I get all that. How much do you want for it?”

“Normally I wouldn't let it go for less than five hundred, but since you're a friend I'll let you have it for four hundred.”

Madinie set the wand back into its box. “If this wand could help me improve my act I'd buy it in a heartbeat.”

“It did belong to the Great Hans Merlin. There has to be some kind of energy in this wand. Don't you think?”

Madinie thought on it for a minute finally convincing himself that Myron had a good point. “Ok I'll take it.”

The two men settled up and Madinie walked out of the shop with something he hoped would take his performance to a new level.

~~~

For the next few days Madinie worked with the new wand. He had a show scheduled for the weekend and the wand was proving itself to be more than he had expected and worthy of the investment. He mentioned the fact to his assistant, Tina.

She was less than impressed. “It's just a stick. You know that, right?”

“This is more than a stick. It once belonged to the Great Hans Merlin. It has his energy flowing through it.”

Her reply was less than enthusiastic. “Ya, whatever. Just as long as you can use it to grow our audience. That's all I care about. We need the money.”

At his very next performance, Madinie decided to try out his newest purchase. Everything was working smoothly. It was the last trick of the night. Madinie was going to make is assistant disappear. He went through the normal routine used by most magicians. He showed his audience all sides of the box to prove there was no way to get out. Tina stepped inside and the door was shut and locked. A few words to the audience and Madinie took his new wand, waved it about, touched it to the box and called out “SHAZAAM!”

The box was unlocked, the door was opened and sure enough Tina was gone. “Do you want me to bring her back?” He asked his audience.

The answer was a resounding YES! Madinie repeated the same procedure, tapped the box with his wand and again called out “SHAZAAM!”

The box was opened but to his surprise Tina was not in the box. This wasn't part of the trick and Madinie wondered to himself what happened. He feigned ignorance with his audience. “Shall we try it one more time?” He asked.

Again the reply was yes. Madinie went through the procedure one more time. When the door was opened she was still not in the box. This was highly unusual and Madinie needed to improvise.

“It looks like I may have to go get her.”

Like many magicians before him, an assistant would be planted in the audience. Madinie was unprepared and had no trusted colleague to call on. So he called on a young man close to the stage and gave him instructions. “I am going to step into the box. You lock it, tap the box and call out the magic word, SHAZAAM.”

Under his breath he told the man to not be too hasty and give him some time before he reopened the box.

The young man did as he was instructed. As soon as the box was closed Madinie tried to open the trap door beneath the box but it was stuck. After a few tugs it broke loose. He stepped through the trap door but something was different. This was not under the stage. He was outside. As he stood there perplexed he was approached by Tina. “Thank God you're here. Get us out of here.”

“I would, but the trap door has vanished. Where is HERE?”

Just then a doorway appeared before them. With no other foreseeable options they decided to go through it. Madinie was amazed at what he was seeing.

It was a small banquet hall filled with many of the greatest magicians of all time. Madinie and Tina were met at the door by none other than the Great Hans Merlin and his wife. “Come in and have a seat. You're just in time for the show.”

“What is this place and why are we here?” Asked Madinie.

This is a banquet of great magicians. We all ended up here because of one thing we all have in common.”

“And what might that be?” Asked Tina.

“It has to do with an ancient curse placed upon a sliver of wood. A wand made from the branch of a holly tree. Whoever used the wand would mysteriously vanish into thin air. Do you see it now? We all used the same wand.”

“Well that's just great,” replied Madinie. “How do we get out of here?”

“I'm afraid that's impossible. We've all tried and as soon as we realize the impossibility of it we resolve ourselves to the situation we find ourselves in. The good part is, here we teach each other new tricks and design more elaborate ones. We have access to whatever we need.”

“Everything but a way out,” replied Madinie.

“I'm afraid that's true. You'll soon realize that yourself. Like I said, we all do sooner or later. Before you run off looking for the impossible please take a seat and enjoy the show.”

Madinie relented and took a seat. He was a sucker for good magic.

~~~

After Madinie had disappeared his wand was given to a relative who sold it to a local magic shop where it would eventually be purchased by another unsuspecting magician. The magicians banquet would continue to grow for many years to come.

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