It was a warm night, so most of the partygoers stayed outside. They sat on the benches in the rooftop garden. They lounged on the chairs next to the rooftop pool.

Brack started the night standing on his own, wearing a simple brown suit. Charlie and Ty stood not far off, so they could keep an eye on him.

But before long, he’d been spotted, sitting at a table under a canopy.

“Hey, there’s the old master,” said a magician. It only took seconds before Brack’s table was mobbed.

Magicians stood in front of his table. They made things disappear. They made things appear. They juggled. They levitated objects and levitated themselves. The assistants performed flourishes or little spins, showing off their clothes or hair or smile.

At the table, Brack smiled politely.

“Do you have an open slot in your farewell show, Mr. Abracadabra?” asked a woman after she made her sister disappear — and then reappear as her brother.

“Please, Mr. Abracadabra,” said a man as he juggled bowling balls while riding a unicycle, “make room for me on that stage!”

Brack didn’t respond to anyone. He just smiled.

Theopolis was the last magician to arrive. He strode off the elevator, right up the front path. Then he stomped to the front of the line of magicians.

Tonight he wore his most impressive garb: a heavy black robe that shined like silk, trimmed with silver and gold thread. He carried a staff, like some ancient wizard. On each side of him was a magician’s assistant, both hobbled and bent. The assistants were dressed in burlap cloaks.

Charlie elbowed Ty, who was busy watching some jugglers practicing next to the pool.

“Look who’s here,” Charlie said.

Theopolis threw back the hood of his robe.

At the same moment, a huge bolt of lightning — one of Theopolis’s special effects — struck his wizard’s staff. Smoke rose up from his feet.

“Wow,” said Ty. “You have to admit, he knows how to make an entrance.”

“Mr. Abracadabra!” Theopolis said in his deepest voice. “I — the Great and Powerful Theopolis, lord of the demon realm and the greatest sorcerer in the dimension — have come to offer a challenge.”

Brack winked at Ty and Charlie. Then he looked back at Theopolis. “Go on,” he said.

A few people nearby chuckled. Theopolis ignored them. “This hotel has become old,” Theopolis said, putting up his arms grandly. “You have become old.”

Brack shrugged and smiled. “Too true,” he said.

“Your retirement from magic,” said Theopolis, “draws near. You will no doubt enjoy a rest. A very long rest. It will do you good.”

“He’s been resting for fifty years,” Ty whispered to Charlie.

“The hotel itself could use some fixing too,” Theopolis went on. “Its age is showing, as yours is. It needs to be… updated. Brought up to modern times.” He laughed. “You’ve been in hiding for a long time, old man. The world has changed, and so has magic.”

“Perhaps,” said Brack.

“And so, I offer this challenge,” Theopolis said. “I will now perform an act of magic so striking, so amazing, that you will not believe it possible.”

“An illusion?” Brack said.

“No illusion,” said Theopolis. “True magic — the demonic power I learned in my studies. Power from other dimensions.”

“I see,” said Brack. “Then what is the challenge?”

“I say it is magic,” Theopolis said. “You say it is an illusion. Then prove it. After the feat, you will have until the night of your final performance to show how it was done.”

“And if I can’t?” Brack said.

“Ah,” said Theopolis. He grinned and made a temple of his fingers before his face. “If you cannot, then you back out of your final performance and hand the theater over to me… and the hotel along with it.”