The Captive Conjuror

Under the soft glow of lavender lights, a lithe young woman reclined onto an elegantly upholstered couch. The side slit of her blue lamé gown spilled over the edge revealing the lower part of her porcelain-toned leg and silver high-heeled shoe.

A handsome man in formal attire stepped behind the couch and cast his gaze about the room. All eyes were on him as he gestured forcefully above the prone figure and to everyone's astonishment, the young woman began to rise slowly into the air.

The music swelled as she rose clear of the couch which was promptly wheeled off stage by an attending assistant.

Slowly she ascended as though suspended by some unseen force exuding from the man's strong outstretched fingers. Suddenly his fingers flicked upward and the woman's movement ceased, leaving her suspended in mid-air.

Though her eyes were closed, Chloe could sense that she would now be floating at about chest-height to Derek, and she knew that the next bit of business would be for him to pass a solid hoop around her body. Through the many months of rehearsals and performances, she knew his every move as it corresponded to the music.

After Henry, the assistant, placed the hoop into Derek's hand the magician would pause briefly, leaning slightly to one side to regard the delicate vision of the floating woman before him.

"I can't wait to feel your cock between my lips tonight," Chloe whispered without a trace of movement in her angelic face.

Damn,

thought Derek,

I just had to marry a ventriloquist, didn't I?

Chloe knew he was helpless to respond. It would destroy their presentation if he began talking to the floating lady, who was ostensibly hypnotized, but her ability to speak without moving her lips was something she didn't mind using to her own advantage.

Derek passed the hoop over Chloe's body from head to toe, pausing with a sly smile to the audience. Then, for good measure, he passed the hoop over the floating figure once more, holding his pose leaning over slightly toward Chloe's face, almost as if he was going to kiss her.

"I am

so

ready to wrap my hands around that thick magic wand of yours."

Again, not even the slightest hint of movement of her lips.

Derek strode forward briskly, frantically catapulting his thoughts toward quadratic equations, to Jackson Pollack paintings, to the queen in a bikini. Anything to stave off any tell-tale signs of the erotic thoughts his wife was stirring up!

He spread his arms wide and the audience applauded wildly.

Henry had by this time replaced the couch and come forward to relieve Derek of the hoop. Derek turned upstage to return to his former position. As he did he chanced a whisper to his levitating wife.

"You are in so much trouble!"

He almost thought he saw a trace of a smile on her face as she began to descend toward the couch once more, but he knew better. Chloe was the ultimate professional in every way. Well, except when it came to throwing her voice to tease her husband.

She continued to play her role of the entranced woman as she came to rest on the couch once more.

Derek dramatically snapped his fingers before Chloe's closed eyes which instantly fluttered open. He deftly helped her to her feet and they swept forward to the last strains of the music. Taking their bow in the lone spotlight that now illuminated them, the crowd roared their approval. With a tightly choreographed snap the couple embraced dramatically and the light doused a fraction of a second later.

"Sorry, lover, " Chloe whispered in the dark, "but when a girl craves cum ..."

But even in the darkness Derek did not dare to speak because he knew that the sound man's next cue would be bringing up the magician's wireless mic for his introduction of the next illusion. Chloe, however, had no such restriction. She whispered into his ear, "I've never wanted to feel you in my mouth as badly as I do right now."

That very moment the stage lights restored, and Derek sent Chloe off stage with a blown kiss and another round of applause from the audience.

Derek barely managed to retain his composure as Henry quickly set a chair out on stage to one side for the next trick. Ordinarily Derek would remain at center stage for his introduction of the effect, but not wanting to take any chances of sporting a noticeable erection in what was, after all, a family-oriented show, he chose instead to walk over and stand behind the chair for a few moments until he could calm down once more.

Soon he was in the stride of the routine during which he would borrow a young man's shoe for another astonishing miracle. The comedy routine was flowing nicely as Chloe wheeled a small box on a table onto the stage. All she had to do was make eye contact with Derek and he was in dangerous territory once more. Truly this woman possessed a magic all her own.

****

Humble Beginnings

Derek and Chloe had met nine years earlier at a magic convention. Derek was performing at that time with his cousin, Deana, who was certainly eye-candy enough for a magician's assistant, but she didn't have too much going in the brains department.

Deana insisted that the act needed to be super sexy, so she wore the skimpiest outfits she could find and ridiculously high heeled boots.

She made sure that Derek never had a costume with sleeves, and often she had him in nothing more than tight pants and a vest that would be worn open. She reasoned that nobody could ever accuse him of hiding things up his sleeves if he didn't have any.

Their act was all flash and speed. Loud music and spinning lights all the time. They had never won a competition at any convention, though they attended and competed in every one that they could.

Derek wanted more for the act, but he really wasn't sure how to differentiate himself from the barrage of other magic acts. He hadn't learned yet that all he needed to do was allow his natural personality to stand out, and that just because every other magic act under the sun had frantic and in-your-face presentations that he didn't need to follow that formula.

Chloe was working at the time with "The Amazing Darrellini". She had always believed that any magician whose stage name began with

"The Amazing "

would be anything but. She also believed that anyone who carelessly tacked

"ini"

onto the tail of his name must be severely lacking in imagination, skill and talent. It turned out that she was right on both counts.

Chloe was a rare thing, a young woman who loved magic, but never cared to be a magicienne. She loved the idea of being the magician's assistant, and since her teen years had managed to find work with several young performers, though she discovered that finding magicians with whom to work was not always as easy as she had imagined.

She had only taken the position with Darrell Cosgrove as a temporary job for the summer, and barely three weeks in she was regretting her decision. It pained her to be involved with a sub-par act, but she was a woman of integrity and planned to honor her contract but never list the credit on her resumé.

On the first night of the convention's competition shows, The Amazing Darrellini's act proved to be more than usually underwhelming. Darrell was not a deft or graceful performer and spectacularly dropped one of his props where it not only shattered into pieces, it revealed the secret of how it was to have been done. He frantically waved Chloe onto the stage to try to move on.

She gracefully glided onto the stage and offered the prop that was to have been next in the lineup. But Darrell was so flustered that he had begun announcing a different trick altogether. When he saw that the props were not the ones he expected he became downright belligerent.

"Not the Die Box, you stupid bitch!" he hissed. "The Milk Pitcher! Bring me the Milk Pitcher!" His microphone picked up every word and broadcast it into the auditorium. The room filled with magicians and laymen alike went stone cold silent.

Chloe simply smiled and walked calmly off the stage never to return. Darrell stammered and blustered for several long seconds, but to the crowd it felt like an hour. The emcee had the good sense to direct the stage manager to close the curtain on him, bringing the poor excuse of an act to a close.

Darrell was now full-on furious and he ran off in search of Chloe. She was peeling the spangles out of her hair as she walked back toward the women's dressing room. Darrell ran after her, caught her by the arm and whirled her around.

"How could you do that to me?" he bellowed. "You fucked up my entire act and probably my whole career! I'm gonna fuckin' destroy you! You better go and beg the judges to let us do our act over! Fuck!"

She simply looked Darrell directly in the eye and spoke calmly.

"No, Darrell, the act is over, once and for all. If you feel it's worth reviving, it will be with someone else.

"I can put up with a lot, even your crappy act, but I will

not

tolerate being abused, especially on stage in front of an audience. I'm through. Goodbye."

"What the fuck do you mean?" Darrell fumed. "How can you-"

"Goodbye," Chloe intoned slowly and clearly. "And if you ever so much as lay a finger on me again, I will bring assault charges on you faster than you could fall through a trap door."

She walked away feeling the sense of freedom, of never having to be involved in such a terrible act again. But there was also a ton of uncertainty.

Should she stay for the last two days of the convention? Would Darrell dare to? What was she going to do for a job for the rest of the summer?

She decided that since her registration had already been paid and could not be refunded that she would stick around for the rest of the weekend, if for no other reason than to check out the other acts that would be competing each night.

The next morning she was feeling less-than-enthused, so she skipped her makeup and just threw on a pair of sweats and made her way to the line for breakfast, praying no one would recognize her from the previous night's debacle.

As she reached for a tray she saw a notice posted on a nearby bulletin board.

DESPERATE!! HELP NEEDED!!

Box jumper needed for tonight's competition.

Need someone who knows how to work Zig-Zag, Sub Trunk, and Sword Box.

Ask for Derek at the Stage Manager's office.

Though Chloe had never worked the big illusions before, she at least know how they worked, and she had always wanted to perform in a bigger show.

She figured that if this magician was as desperate as it seemed, he might be willing to take a chance on someone less experienced. It couldn't hurt to ask, anyhow.

After breakfast she made her way to the stage manager's office and asked for Derek.

"Oh, man! Seriously?" cried the stage manager. "He needs someone real bad! Wait right here! I'll go get him."

A couple of minutes later he returned, with Derek jogging right behind. The magician starting jabbering a mile a minute.

"Hi, I'm Derek Steinway! My assistant slipped in the shower last night and broke her arm. I'm supposed to compete tonight but I can't go on without a box-jumper. So, you've worked these illusions before?"

Chloe was amused by how frantic he was. Clearly he was in a panic over having lost his assistant, but it made him seem sort of cute, like a lost puppy, and she couldn't help but want to help the poor guy out.

"Hi, I'm Chloe Fazioli, and ummmmm, no, I actually haven't worked them before, but I know how they're done. I figured if no one else shows up I might be able to help. I'm a fast learner, and I'd hate for you to have to miss the show."

Derek rubbed the back of his neck in thought. He had hoped that he would find someone experienced with these specific illusions, but he also knew that any such person would most likely be attached to one of the other acts.

He looked Chloe over. Cute and slim, but no makeup and her hair pulled into a messy bun. But she seemed to be roughly the same size as Deana.

Not the greatest, but not the worst either,

he thought. And he

was

in a jam.

"You're hired! When can you start rehearsing?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to start right now. I can learn more easily in sweats and don't care if they get snagged inside a prop while we're working on the routines."

"Sounds good to me!"

He turned to the Stage Manager. "Carl, can you go ask Deana to come as soon as she can to coach our new girl through the act?"

With Carl dispatched on his mission Derek took Chloe backstage and showed her his props and pointed out the particular aspects of them. Before long Chloe was hopping inside the Zig-Zag Lady cabinet and learning how to be sawed into three pieces.

By the time Deana arrived the theater Chloe had already gotten a fundamental grasp of the main illusions. Derek was immediately impressed with how gracefully she moved, effortlessly slipping into this box or that, all the while flashing a million-dollar smile.

Deana sat in a chair and begrudgingly instructed Chloe on the sequence of the show, telling her exactly how she did each move.

On several occasions Chloe suggested an alternate way of accomplishing a move here or a gesture there. Deana was feeling defensive. She didn't like seeing someone stepping into the act, let alone doing it better than she, so she balked at each and every suggestion, stating, "That's not the way we do it! Believe me, sugar, I've been doing this act for several years now, and I know what works and what doesn't!"

But Derek saw that Chloe's ways of doing things were much smoother and looked more natural, and he pointed out that their usual way of doing things had never won them any awards. So he vetoed nearly every one of Deana's protestations and implemented the changes immediately.

They worked steadily all morning then took a short lunch break after which Deana showed Chloe her costumes. Derek had to suppress a chuckle when Chloe simply raised one eyebrow at the proffered wardrobe.

"Wow! Red vinyl boots! Gee, I hope they fit!" Chloe lied.

"Well, honey," Deana cracked, "everyone knows that sex sells, and we've been called the sexiest magic act in the Rockies!"

Derek blanched at Deana's declaration, suddenly feeling rather ashamed of himself. Chloe noted his reaction but said nothing. She was discovering a lot about this Derek Steinway, more from what he didn't say than what he did.

By late afternoon the act had been thoroughly learned and prepared as well as it could be. Chloe told Derek that she would be having a quick dinner alone but that she would meet him backstage at the appointed hour. She dangled the skimpy outfit on its hanger from one finger.

"Do I really have to wear this?" she asked.

"I know. It's terrible," Derek sighed. "I've never said anything because our costumes have always been Deana's department. But I'm kinda scared to make a change now since we already know how they work in the illusions."

"Can I at least ditch the boots?"

"Deal."

When Derek arrived backstage before the competition show, Chloe was already waiting for him. He had not attended the previous evening's performance having had to take Deana to the hospital, so he had not seen what Chloe looked like when she was "show ready".

His jaw nearly dropped when he saw her. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back in gentle waves. Her makeup accented her almond-shaped eyes perfectly, and her lipstick was just red enough to be alluring without making her look promiscuous. Clearly Deana could learn a thing or three from Chloe!

Though she was not entirely comfortable in the barely-there spandex outfit, she had nothing to be ashamed of. Consisting only of an off-the-shoulder crop top and a pair of trunks it left little to the imagination.

It was the first time that the sight of Chloe had caused a stirring in Derek's trousers, but it most certainly would not be the last!

The act went far more smoothly than it ever had before, even with an assistant who had only been doing the act for a couple of hours, not years. Deana watched from the back of the auditorium with a scowl on her face. By the time the act had finished, she was coming to suspect that she could be replaced.

Dammit,

she thought to herself,

I should never have hit on the lighting guy last night and fucked him in my shower. Bastard didn't even stick around to help me and now I'm probably out of a gig.

The Magic of Derek

did not win the competition that year, but it did set into motion the events that would affect the rest of his life.

Derek did ask Chloe to stay on with the act. She was flattered but it would mean turning her whole life upside down. She had grown up in the greater Chicago area, and though she had traveled some, she had never lived anywhere but there.

Derek lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which might as well have been on the moon! But Chloe thought about how many "Darrelinis" she would have to put up with before she got another opportunity like this, so she decided to bite the bullet and make the move.

Deana was not happy at having been replaced but even she had to admit that Chloe was much better in the act. Besides, she ended up with her own happy little epilogue.

Eric, the lighting guy she had hooked up with tracked her down to apologize for running out on her that night she fell in the shower. It turned out he had run to try to find help, but by the time he returned, Derek had already taken her to the hospital, and at that time he didn't even know her name. Eventually Deana and Eric ended up getting married and having four kids!

Derek was refreshed and energized to take his act in an entirely different direction. He had not even realized how badly Deana had steamrolled over him on so many of the creative decisions.

Chloe had suggested that the great classics of magic had become largely ignored by modern performers, and that class, in general, had given way to loud and extraneous trappings. She knew they could do something different by going back to the roots of the profession and giving brand new presentations to old illusions.

Gone would be the gratuitously revealing costumes, the garish lighting, the booming music. They were to be replaced with expertly tailored formal wear, tasteful staging and musical scoring drawn mostly from classical repertoire.

As Derek began to work more with Chloe he was delighted to discover someone who cared deeply about quality, and would not cut corners or take the easy way out. If it meant more hours of rehearsal, or saving more money to buy better costumes and props or even hire extra help she was not only willing but insistent they do so.

They discovered together that hard work needn't be stressful, when everyone is working toward the same goal.

The act became easier to book as it found its unique voice and presentation. They had hired Henry as their secondary assistant, who proved his worth both on stage and off and quickly became a trusted friend.

One day the three of them were rehearsing new staging for the levitation illusion, which lent itself to a very romantic presentation. They experimented with various ways of getting into the routine, trying out this embrace or that to set up Chloe's eventual reclining onto the couch.

Henry stood back to get the audience's perspective. After about the third of fourth attempt he cried out, "Guys, it's so obvious that you're madly in love with each other that any of these would work!"

Immediately Derek and Chloe released one another and shuffled back, each of them embarrassed by this comment.

"What? You're crazy" cried Derek.

"In love? No we're only

pretending

to be in love to create a romantic atmosphere for the act," explained Chloe.

Henry just sighed loudly. "Well, some day, when you two finally figure out that you're

really

in love with each other it will make things a lot easier around here!