Torn and Restored

Chapter 8 - Seven of Spades

Olivia was still running when she heard a gun fire. She thought of going back to check on Will but decided against it. She knew it would just infuriate him. He had told her to free her hands and run as fast as she could to the garage at the basement. She had done as instructed and searched wildly for a fuel container. She finally found one and ran to the room Will had mentioned. She assumed that it was a store room. It was on the top floor of the building so she had to climb a long way. Finally, she made it. The lock clicked as she opened the door. She walked through the dusty place, swatting the cobwebs out of her way, with her free hand. The surroundings did very little to daunt her. It was what she was about to do that unnerved her.She reached the far end of the room. She saw four vents in front of her on either wall. 'Fuel Vents', she assumed. These vents lead the way to all cavities along the length of the wall in almost each room. Will had asked her to fuel the vent that lead to the practice hall and burn all the secrets to his tricks in case he couldn't make it out. They meant the world to him and he didn't want them to fall into wrong hands. But she did not know which vent lead to which place. Since there were only four of them, she figured out that one of those vents must lead to one part of the mansion and not just a room. That narrowed her choice. But still she couldn't find the correct vent and she knew that time was running hot.

Few floors below the men were engaged in a fierce fistfight. Kane was no match for Will in a close ranged combat. Will overpowered him in almost every aspect. Kane received yet another blow as he fell down.

Will knew he was winning but he had taken a hit and wasn't sure if he could continue for a long time. But Kane didn't know that and Will had to keep it that way. The throbbing in his abdomen was deepening every minute.

Moreover, he couldn't smell any fuel in the room and that made him wonder if Olivia had made it up to the store room. He saw Kane get up on his feet.

"I thought this was going to be easy", said Kane as he spat out the blood in his mouth.

"You should've left when you had the chance", Will replied.

Kane's laughter echoed across the hall.

"Shut up!", barked Will.

"I've been in this room all night going through all your stuff", said Kane who was starting to feel much better now.

Will hoped he was bluffing. All this time Will had thought that Kane had entered their house just now. But if what Kane told was true, Will knew that he was already in trouble. These weren't just secrets, they meant everything to him. It was years of hard work. He had dedicated his whole life to magic and now he was losing it to a stranger.

"You're lying", mocked Will.

"I wish I were. But you didn't mention several tricks in there. I don't know how they're being done. That is the reason why I stayed, to learn it from you", said Kane.

It was indeed true. Will did have few tricks that weren't mentioned in there. The Bullet Catch was one among them because it employed one of the simplest tricks of all. Tarquin just palmed the signed bullet for a dummy and, before they took their respective positions, had a moment with Will. At least that was what the audience thought. That was when Will made announcements and sent the volunteer back. Amidst all this, the bullet was exchanged. At that moment.

Simple misdirection.

A heavy fist brought him back to reality. He felt the pain gradually spread across his body. He writhed in pain as Kane watched from a few feet away.

Will scanned the floor for anything that might help him. He instantly saw the deck of cards near his feet. He had dropped them when he had freed his hands. He grabbed the scattered cards as he helped himself up his feet.