Authors: Teri Brown

Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #Fantasy & Magic, #Visionary & Metaphysical, #Love & Romance

Born of Illusion (39 page)

I lift the lid and finger the solid silver handcuffs inside. I unfold the note and read,

Dear Anna the magician,

I hope this note finds you mending and the gift makes you smile. You will be receiving a visitor soon. His name is Martin Beck. I trust you will know the name. He is putting together a troupe going to England to perform in various theaters. He does this on occasion to “season” young acts so they can perfect their craft before performing in the States. After I told him of your potential, he agreed to come see you in order to gauge your interest. I believe it to be a good opportunity for you. Of course, you may not want to leave your mother. Please don’t feel any obligation because of our relationship.

Thinking of you,

Harry Houdini

P.S. You were right. The secret lies in shortening the bolts.

Martin Beck is one of the most famous entertainment managers in the world. He’d built the Orpheum Theaters Empire, and even though he no longer owns them, he’s still one of the most influential men in the entertainment world. Jacques is small-time compared to Beck. I’d received another note just this morning from Beck himself setting up a time to meet.

And I already knew what I would tell him—yes, a thousand times yes. Performing, astonishing people with the unexpected—
that
is what I want to do with my life. Plus this way, I’ll not only get to do what I love, I’ll be near Cole when he starts college.

I hear a tap on the door and Cole’s professor voice reaches me from the hallway. He’s still uncomfortable around my mother, but then again, my mother isn’t a very comfortable person.

As I fold the note and stick it in the box, I realize it doesn’t matter if Houdini is my real father or not—as long as I think of him this way he will always, in a way, be mine.

Smiling, I set the box aside, and my heart leaps as Cole opens the door and pokes his head around the corner. He’s been with me almost continuously since I’ve come home, and every time we’re together, our connection grows stronger. I can’t wait to gallivant about London with him. I don’t need a vision to know that it’s going to be splendid.

He takes my hand and bends down to brush his lips across mine.

“How are you feeling?” he asks, carefully sitting next to me.

I look into those midnight-dark eyes and I can’t help but smile. “Magical,” I say, squeezing his hand. “I feel magical.”

Acknowledgments

B
ooks don’t happen out of thin air, and I know for a fact this one didn’t. It started with an idea—a spark partially ignited and kept going by my teen coworker, Nicolas Braccioforte. Nic, a magic enthusiast, listened to my ideas and gave me invaluable feedback on the magic scenes. The spark was kept alive by my husband, Alan, my children, Ethan and Megan, and my mom and dad, Lyle and Carol Foreman, who always supported me, even when I was whining. Numerous critique partners and friends went over a gazillion drafts of my manuscript and gave me feedback and encouragement, including Kelly McClymer, Cyn Balog, Amy Danicic, Delilah Marvelle, Ann Friedrick, and Jessica Smith. A huge chunk of gratitude goes to my incomparable agent, Mollie Glick, who so completely believed in Anna’s story that she worked with me for months to whip the manuscript into shape. Without her, I would not have found my amazing editor, Kristin Rens, who made delving into 1920s New York a joyous experience. And lastly, I would like to thank the one and only Harry Houdini, whose legendary life provided such juicy inspiration for my story and whose fame and mystique will live on forever.

About the Author

TERI BROWN
is most proud of her children, but coming in a close second is the fact that she jumped out of an airplane and beat the original Legend of Zelda video game. She is a word scribbler, head banger, math hater, book reader, food fixer, kitty keeper, and city slicker. Teri lives with her husband and way too many pets in Portland, Oregon. You can visit her online at www.teribrownbooks.com.

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Credits

Cover art © 2013 by Ali Smith
Lettering by Karl Kwasny
Cover design by Ray Shappell and Annemieke Beemster Leverenz

Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Born of Illusion

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brown, Teri J.

Born of illusion / Teri Brown. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Summary: “Set in 1920s New York City, this is the story of budding magician Anna Van Housen, who has spent her whole life playing sidekick to her faux-medium mother—and trying to hide the fact the she actually possesses the very abilities her mother fakes”— Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-0-06-218754-3 (hardcover bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-227720-6 (international ed.)

EPub Edition © APRIL 2013 ISBN: 9780062187567

[1. Psychic ability—Fiction. 2. Identity—Fiction. 3. Magicians—Fiction. 4. Mothers and daughters—Fiction. 5. Houdini, Harry, 1874–1926—Fiction. 6. New York (N.Y.)—History—20th century—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.B81797Bor 2013

[Fic]—dc23

2012038109

13 14 15 16 17 LP/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1