Violets Are Blue

also unnecessarily unpleasant, way over the top. The kids in the audience laughed and cheered him on. Civility seems to be dead at the moment. Nasty is chic; nasty is so cool and
real
.
    I looked over at Jamilla. “He sees them as food. Interesting how his twisted mind works.”
    The second magician sauntered out onto the stage a couple of minutes later. No magic gimmicks to announce the entrance, which surprised me. I had heard this was a real light-and-sound show, but not tonight. Why the style change? Was this for us? Did they know who we were?
    “For the uninitiated, I’m Daniel. Charles and I have been doing magic shows since we were twelve years old and living in San Diego, California. We’re very good at magic. We can do the ‘Vanishing Performer’ — Houdini’s personal favorite; the ‘Sword Cabinet’; Carl Hertz’s ‘Merry Widow’; DeKolta’s ‘Cocoon.’ I can catch a bullet fired from a Colt Magnum in my teeth. So can Charles. Aren’t we
special
? Don’t you wish you were us?”
    The crowd howled and cheered. The rock music from the speakers had been lowered. Only the beat droned on.
    “The illusion you are about to witness is the same one Harry Houdini used to close his show in Paris and New York. We’re using it to
open
our show. Need I say more?”
    The lights suddenly flashed off. The stage was in total darkness. A few women in the audience screeched loudly. Mock fear. Mostly there was laughter, some of it nervous. What were these two really up to?
    Jamilla nudged me with an elbow. “Don’t be scared. I’m right here. I’ll protect you.”
    “I’ll remember that.”
    Then tiny pinpricks of light appeared everywhere on the stage. The main spots came on again. Nothing happened for the next minute or so.
    Then Daniel, riding a spirited, prancing white stallion, came out onto the stage. He was dressed in royal blue glitter from head to toe. He wore a matching top hat, and he tipped it to the cheering audience.
    “I must admit this is pretty cool,” Jamilla said. “Quite the stunt. So visual. Now what?”
    Daniel was followed onstage by eight men and women in crisp white palace uniforms. And two white tigers. It was a pretty amazing spectacle. Two female performers held up a huge oriental fan in front of Daniel and his high-stepping horse. My eyes were glued to the stage.
    “Jesus,” Jamilla muttered. “What the hell is this?”
    “They’re ripping off Harry Houdini, like the man said. And they’re doing it well.”
    When the two women slowly pulled the fan away, Daniel was gone. Now Charles was seated on the white horse.
    “Once again — Jesus,” said Jam. “How do they do that?”
    Somehow, Charles had changed into black trash and glitter. The smirk on his face was totally, incredibly arrogant. It showed utter disdain for the audience, but they seemed to love it, to love him. A puff of smoke, and the audience gasped as one.
    Somehow, Daniel was back onstage, standing alongside Charles and the beautiful horse. The illusion was masterful. Everyone in the audience jumped up and clapped wildly. The screams and piercing whistles hurt my ears.
    “And that,” Daniel announced, “is only the beginning! You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
    Jamilla looked at me and her mouth sagged. “Alex, these guys are very good, and I’ve
seen
Siegfried and Roy. Why are they playing at these little clubs? Why are they wasting their time here?”
    “Because they want to,” I told her. “
This is where they look for prey
.”

Chapter 62

    JAMILLA AND I watched both magic shows that night. We were amazed by the calmness and the confidence exuded by Daniel and Charles. Following the second show, the magicians went home. The agents on surveillance there said it appeared the two were home for the night. I didn’t get it, and neither did Jamilla.
    Eventually, around three in the morning, she and I returned to the Dauphine. Two FBI teams would stay near Daniel and Charles’s place until morning. We were becoming frustrated and confused. We had a lot of manpower working their butts off.
    I wanted to ask Jamilla up for a beer, but I didn’t. Too complicated for right now. Or maybe I was just getting chickenshit as I got older. Maybe I was even a little wiser.
Nah
.
    I was up again at six, making notes in my hotel room. I was learning some things I didn’t want to know, and not just about magic tricks. I now knew that in the vampire underworld, the area surrounding the main home of a sire,