Sleight of Hand

Chapter 2

The squealing of the drawer barely had an effect on Tom and Sierra. The siblings stared, transfixed at what was inside. It was an ordinary shoebox, but there was light coming from the box. Light of all different colors.

Tom clicked off the flashlight and reached in to pick up the box.

"Tom!" Sierra hissed. He looked back at her.

"What?" he hissed back.

"Don't touch that! You don't know what it is!"

"It's a shoebox, Sierra. What could possibly be danger-ous about it?"

Tom lifted the shoebox out of the drawer, and eased the drawer shut. They winced as it clicked loudly.

"Let's take this back upstairs," he whispered, and they made their way back to the office door. Sierra opened the door slowly and peeked out. Everything was still dark and silent.

They slunk out of the office, and closed the door behind them. They tiptoed their way back upstairs, and into Sierra's room. She closed the door silently.

Tom sat on her bed and set the shoebox down.

"So... what do you think is in it?" Tom asked as Sierra sat down across from him.

She shrugged. "I don't know, but I've never seen light like that before."

Tom hesitantly reached for the lid. He suddenly didn't look so cocky, but he put a finger under the lid and lifted it up. As soon as the lid hit the bed, he snatched his hand back.

Tom and Sierra shared an apprehensive glance, and leaned forward to peer into the shoebox.

"Whoa," Tom breathed, taking in the sight. In the box were stacks of cards, each one enveloped in a plastic, pro­tective sleeve. The cards themselves were giving off the kaleidoscopic light. Tom and Sierra both reached in and picked up a card.

"They're trading cards," Tom noted, flipping his card over and looking at it from all angles. In his eyes glinted a mixture of disbelief and awe.

"This is so cool," he concluded, slipping the card out from its sleeve and rubbing it with his fingers.

"But how does it do that?" he wondered aloud. The card in his hand was black, but it somehow gave off light just like the rest of the cards.

Sierra didn't have a reply. She just examined the card in her hand with wonder. It glowed softly with a warm, golden-red light. She flipped the card back over and gasped.

"Tom, look!" she said, and held the card out to him.

A cartoon picture of a figure had appeared. It was of a girl with voluminous scarlet hair and glowing blue eyes. She had a contemplative look on her delicate face. She wore a sleeve­less red-and-gold waistcoat over a white tank top, fingerless gloves, and high brown boots over close-fitting black pants. Beside her foot was a red fox with the same blue eyes as the girl.

"This is so neat," Tom said, looking at the card he was holding.

It had a picture of a boy on it. He had dark, unruly hair and intense green eyes. He was dressed in all black. His outfit consisted of a long overcoat with coattails clasped over a shirt, and pants tucked into black boots. He too wore gloves with the fingers cut off, and he wore a brooding, almost threatening expression. An earring sat in his right earlobe.

Sierra picked out another card. This one gave off a friendly green light. On it was a girl with a sweet smile, and sparkling hazel eyes. Her features were soft and fairy-like, and she wore a brown vest and pants, and hiking boots. Over her clothes was a dark green cloak clasped to one side. She wore a hunting knife on her hip, and gauntlets on her wrists. Her curly auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail and pinned away from her face.