The Boy Witch

1: Magic Tricks

I usually like to keep to myself. It minimizes the trouble of forming bonds when I was just going to up and leave anyway. It also minimizes the troubles of other Supernaturals, since they always come after me. It gets rather annoying and dangerous at times.

Though I wish I didn't have this type of unstable life, I know it's unavoidable. After all, being a witch in a world where they're not supposed to exist has consequences. Even though I can't do anything about it and I didn't choose to be this way.

I slowly make my way down the city block, hands stuffed deeply into the pockets of my hooded jacket. Stopping at a unfamiliar corner, I take note of the good sized crowd bustling around. This was a good place, I wouldn't be disrupting any traffic or any shops.

I step closer to the wall while rolling up my sleeves, and pull out my ever present card deck out of my back pocket. I slip the cards out, pocketing the box as I half the deck with one hand. Taking a deep breath, I shout out, "Ladies and gents! Come and see magic at it's best!" I place a big smile on as people began to stop and walk closer, curious looks in their eyes. A few people rolled their eyes, trying to tug their companions along with them, only to stay when said companion chided them and tugged them back. A few young children and teens stopped on their way.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today I have a special performance to share with all of you!" I state clearly, so everyone can hear. "As you can see," I say as I fluidly shuffle the deck with practice, "I have with me a standard 52 card deck." I look around at the front row and point to a young girl, maybe about 18. "Miss, can you please look through this deck to make sure all the cards are there?" I ask her. She nods her head and takes the deck out of my hands. "I have removed the Jokers, but nothing else from the deck."

The girl gives the cards back, while stating, "All the cards are there." I smile at her as I take the cards. "Lovely." I begin to shuffle the deck again, while saying, "I will ask a person from the crowd to half the deck at whichever point they would like, then pick a card." I scan the front again and look towards a 10 year old boy. "Good sir, could you please half this deck?" I ask him, kneeling down to his height. He nods his head shyly after his mother gave him an encouraging smile. The boy took the half the deck off the top and put it in my other hand. I thank him as I put the top half on the bottom of the stack.

"Now, I had no idea that the cards would be halved in this way, so naturally I wouldn't know the order of the cards. I will chose a number, and using that number I will count cards out. Any suggestions?" I gesture to the crowd. "21!" Someone shouted in the back. I point in their direction saying, "I heard 21! 21 it is!" I nimbly count out the cards until the twenty-first card. Turning to a man in his thirties, I ask him, "Sir will you please read the card aloud?"

"3 of spades." He says clearly. "Will you please check the card for any defects?" I inquire, giving him the card. He flips it around in his hands, shaking his head as he starts to give it back. "Good, go ahead and hold onto it for a while longer. I see you have some pockets, can you please put it in one?" He nods as he complies, slipping it into his back jean pocket.

"What I will do, is I will make the card disappear and reappear in someone else's pocket. Will you please choose someone from this crowd you don't know?" He looks around before settling on the young girl from before, who checked my cards. "Uh, her," he said while pointing at her. I nod as I make my way to her.

"Miss, is it alright if I just touch you momentarily?" She nods her head as I simply just pat her on the shoulder and take a step away. I turn back to the man and ask him, "Sir, can you say that I haven't touched you throughout this whole act?" The man shakes his head. "Will you confirm that you definitely had the card in your hands last time you saw it?" A small frown began to grace his features as he nods his head again. I couldn't help but smile as I ask one more thing. "Could you please check that pocket?"

His face contorted into surprise as he slips his hand into his pocket. He twists his body around trying to look inside the pocket. "I-It's gone!" He exclaims. A rush of excited whispers go through the crowd. I grin widely at their reaction and turn to the girl. "Miss, could you please check your handbag?"

She looks at me with a slightly puzzled reaction as she nods her head and begins to dig through all of the pockets. At last, after a few minutes, she opens the smallest zipper and slowly takes out a playing card. She lets out a confused sound as she looks at the card. She hands it to me, and I turn to the man and hold it up to him. "Is this the card you put in your back pocket?"

Wide-eyed, he replies, "Yes, that's the 3 of spades." I smile wider as I hold it up to the crowd. "Here it is, folks! But that wasn't the end of that! There is plenty of where that came from!" And like that, I performed street magic for the rest of the evening, each trick more complicated than the rest. Only I knew that the magic that others thought was deception was actually real magic. Not that the ordinary people, or Regulars, would know about it. By the end of the show, the crowd grew to twice its original size.

The crowd gave a roar of applause, and I raise my voice over them. "Ladies and gentlemen! This is the end of this evening's show!" I take off my beanie hat and hold it open. "If you enjoyed tonight's show, then please leave a tip in the hat! Have a wonderful evening!" I smile widely as a large portion of the crowd gathered around me to throw in a dollar or two in the hat. After the crowd had dispersed I quietly walk off, putting the money away and putting my hat back on.

I again stuff my hands in my pockets, since it was relatively chilly out, and tip my head back and look at the darkening sky. I guess performing was fun, but I only did it because my part time job doesn't pay enough for the hours I put in. But at least this way, I could expel some magical energy. If I don't use some of my magic, my energy reserve can get overfilled. When this happens, I can't control my magic and I spontaneously make things go berserk. One time this happened, I was in middle school and all of everyone's papers went flying in the air. I lived alone at the time, so it was easy to move away. After that, I tried my best to use up just a little bit of that magic, every once in a while.

I pass by the opening to a dark alleyway. A sharp yank of my arm pulled me into it, ending my thoughts. "Shi-"I begin to say, but get cut off when pushed up against the brick wall with formidable force, cutting off my breath. My head bounces off the wall, dazing my sight. I groan as I slump against the wall momentarily. A hand presses my shoulder against the wall. A deep chuckle resonates through the alley, followed by two other chuckles.

I look up to the person in front of me, squinting with an unfocused gaze. Slowly, my sight becomes more clear. "Well, well, well," a male voice states with a playful but menacing tone. The man in front of me was definitely not human. He had cold dirt brown eyes, with bleached blonde hair. His ears held multiple piercings and he was in his early twenties. He was clean shaved, but with the cross tattoo peeking out from his shirt collar, others might say that he was a rebel. He certainly gave off a dangerous attitude, and his dark leather clothing enforced the intimidation level. His two companions in the back were similar to him, both watching me with curious interest.

He smiled dangerously, and puts his other hand on the wall next to my head. He leans in close to my face, leaving about six inches of space. "So this is the extreme magic we were feeling. Truly impressive, your little magic act back there. We thoroughly enjoyed it." His voice was sickly sweet but hostile as he talked, making me frown slightly. He grinned at my reaction, showing off long, sharp canines. I mutter a curse under my breathe as it all clicked together.

"Vampires."