8

Sophie, Zack, Jonny and Alex blinked as they fell out on to Stephenson Way, soaking up the low-angled late-afternoon sunlight and breathing in the dusty, exhaust-fume-filled, sweet London air. Nice!

‘So, how did you enjoy your first day at the Magic Circle?’ Zack asked casually.

Jonny and Sophie burst out laughing – more through sheer relief than anything else – not quite believing how much had happened since they had first entered the building only hours ago. Even Alex couldn’t help smiling.

‘Oh, Zack, mate,’ sang Jonny. ‘I can’t believe you were going to take the rap for us – you’re so kind!’ He smothered his friend in an all-encompassing hug.

‘Well, it’s pointless us all having a black mark against our name, isn’t it?’ said Zack, trying to free himself.

Sophie smiled as she watched them tussle. ‘Yeah, yeah, all right, you two!’ she said eventually. ‘Putting our undiluted gratitude aside, Zack, I’ve got two questions. Firstly, what was all that wailing inside the Grand Theatre? And secondly, do you think it’s true that the society is on the brink of collapse?’

Jonny let Zack go.

‘Let’s walk and talk, shall we?’ said Zack, heading down the road. ‘Just in case we’re overheard.’

‘OK, come on, then,’ said Jonny, turning round to face Zack and walking backwards. ‘What on earth was all that racket in the theatre? Who’s Alf?’

‘W-was that voice … real?’ stammered Alex.

‘What, none of you have heard of the legend of Alf Rattlebag?’ asked Zack.

‘Oh, that Alf!’ said Sophie. ‘Oh well, of course. Now it makes perfect sense, thank you, Zack. NOT! Come on, out with it!’

‘Well, it’s a long story,* but Alf Rattlebag is a ghost said to haunt the Magic Circle premises ever since he died the night the Grand Theatre opened, back in nineteen twenty-something.’

‘So, the voice we heard was his ghost?’ said Sophie disbelievingly.

‘Yep,’ answered Zack, like this was all pretty straightforward. ‘The unofficial Patron Saint of Stagehands, his poster says. Always there for a magician in need. He was a good guy.’

‘So … he’s a good ghost?’ asked Alex, trying to gauge exactly how scared he needed to be.

‘Well, he certainly didn’t sound like it!’ said Sophie. ‘He also sounded pretty human, for a ghost.’ She was clearly unconvinced. ‘Don’t tell me you buy into all that!’

Zack shrugged. Sophie was right, he didn’t usually buy into the idea of ghosts and things, but this one had just seemed so real.

Alex didn’t know which he preferred: the idea of a ghost or the idea of a man pretending to be a ghost! Something to ponder about in the middle of the night, he thought with a shudder. And what was it with this Henry? No, the Magic Circle wasn’t quite the safe haven Alex had hoped it might be. Though so long as he stayed with these three …

They sat down on a bench outside Euston Station as a pack of tourists sprinted past like a herd of gazelles evading a lion.

Jonny picked up a newspaper, tearing it in half as he spoke. ‘I don’t even think Granddad thought things were that bad, judging by the look on his face – I can’t wait to talk to him about it!’

‘Do you think he might be able to give us the lowdown?’ asked Zack.

‘Maybe …’

‘Well, either way, it’s just so unfair!’ Sophie raised her voice passionately as she got up and began to pace about. ‘Don’t the Council care about the future of magic?’ She didn’t want to believe that such a place could be so out of touch. ‘We could help in all kinds of ways – I know we could!’

‘But that’s not the point,’ said Zack as he watched Jonny tear the newspaper in half again. ‘It doesn’t matter whether we’d run it better than them. President Pickle obviously thinks the society was set up by a particular generation for a particular generation, and that’s that. He’d rather it died with them than see it handed over to a bunch of kids! And if that means the end of the Magic Circle, then so be it!’

Jonny continued to rip the paper into increasingly small pieces. With a flourish, he pulled his hands apart, and at once the newspaper was whole again, fluttering in the breeze. He smiled proudly – he was finally getting the hang of it! Granddad will be so pleased, he thought.

A nearby tourist stared at Jonny and the newspaper, unsure of what she’d just witnessed, and then took a picture of what she’d been reliably informed by Frank* was Big Ben, but was actually Pret.

‘Nicely done!’ said Sophie, glad to be reminded that there was still a lot of fun to be found in conjuring.

‘No way! How on earth …?’ Zack was staring at the front page of the newspaper, a puzzled look on his face.

‘Oh wowsers, don’t tell me you don’t know how it’s done!’ said Jonny, hoping he’d managed to stupefy his best friend – that was definitely a sign of progress.

‘No, not that – I could see the duplicate as soon as you picked it up,’ said Zack, reaching for the paper and extinguishing Jonny’s hopes in an instant. ‘The headline – look!’

They studied the freshly restored front page of the Evening Standard, reading the headline together:

VAULTS OF BANK OF ENGLAND BROKEN INTO FOR FIRST TIME EVER! POLICE BAFFLED!

Underneath was a picture of a man looking baffled, alongside a caption that read: Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Caulfield completely and utterly BAFFLED!

They continued to read the article …

The baffled detective inspector has no idea how thieves managed to enter the Bank of England, but insists that he has everything under control. DI Caulfield was alerted to the news this morning, when Governor of the Bank of England Hugh J’Account phoned Scotland Yard in a panic, apparently also ‘completely baffled’ as to how thieves had managed to penetrate the vast subterranean vaults and leave undetected with sackfuls of gold. This baffling news comes just days after Hugh J’Account was boasting about how no one has ever broken into the Bank of England vaults before and how it would be impossible for anyone to do so undetected. ‘The worry is,’ commented DI Caulfield, ‘that we have no idea how the thieves accomplished this. And that is obviously our main concern right now. However, I do have absolutely everything under control, despite being quite baffled.’

For more photos of DI Caulfield and Hugh J’Account standing in the empty vault and looking baffled, please turn to page five.

Jonny fumbled his way to page five, and they all stared at the series of black-and-white photos of DI Caulfield and Hugh J’Account in various startled poses, a mixture of fear, confusion and surprise on their faces.

They put down the paper and sat back against the bench, Sophie whistling loudly.

‘So how’s that one done, then?’ said Jonny, perplexed. ‘I mean surely the Bank of England has CCTV!’

Alex scanned the pictures of the vault more closely, looking at the giant safe door, clearly unscathed and bolted from the inside, immediately triggering the cogs in his conjuring brain. How, how, how?

‘Apparently the cameras didn’t pick up on anything,’ answered Sophie, reading the caption beneath a large picture of the vault entrance. ‘It’s almost like the thieves were –’

Even before she could finish her sentence, Alex felt the word tumble out of his dry mouth: ‘Ghosts.’

‘Now come on, Alex,’ Sophie said, running her fingers through the short spiky hair on the side of her head. ‘Why would a ghost want gold?’

Alex pondered for a bit. It sounded like the start of a bad joke you might find screwed up inside a Christmas cracker. Something that a dad might tell and retell for ever and ever and find absolutely hilarious. But it was a fair question.

Jonny looked over at Zack, who was now sitting with his head back and eyes half closed. He recognized it as the classic ‘I’m Zack Harrison and I’ve just thought of something’ mode.

‘Oh, here we go … What have you just worked out?’ asked Jonny.

Zack chewed on his bottom lip. ‘Well, it can’t be done,’ he said eventually.

‘That, my dear friend, I believe, is the whole point!’ Jonny looked at Sophie, but she was now staring at Zack too.

‘Out with it, Zack!’ she commanded. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘Well, if it can’t be done – and clearly it can’t – then it must be … a trick.’

The others gazed at him in excitement. This word – trick – meant so much to all of them.

It was true: the theft did have all the hallmarks of some great magical stunt, thought Alex.

‘And even though I don’t quite know how the thieves managed it … I do know of a book that might be able to shed some light on the matter,’ Zack added mysteriously.

‘Ooh, what book?’ said Jonny, always keen to add to his ever-increasing list of books to read, mostly classic recommendations from his granddad.

‘Have you ever heard of The Thieves’ Almanac?’ Zack looked at his friends, pleased to see them instantly taken in by the intriguing title. ‘The Magic Circle banned all mention of it years ago, but rumour has it that there’s a series of books about how to use magic to commit crimes. Apparently the majority were “lost” in a fire, but one survived and is still around today: The Thieves’ Almanac.’

‘Who’s it by?’ asked Sophie, eager to know more.

‘The writer is anonymous, but people think that a load of different magicians might have contributed. It’s always being mentioned on magic forums. Apparently the methods described are some of the most devious ever imagined!’ Zack grinned at them.

Oh, how he would love to peep inside the book, even just for a split second! It was bound to be packed full of daring, devilish methods. It was a book magicians dreamed of. Want to know how to prise a prized portrait out of its glass cabinet without setting off the alarm? Then this is the book for you! Want to know how to get into one of the most impenetrable bank vaults in the country completely undetected, without damaging even one of the 800 locking mechanisms that surround the nation’s shiniest treasure? Then buy this book now!

Except that this book wasn’t for sale. Fortunately, some might say. No, this book was most probably just a thing of myth. Maybe …

‘Are you saying that a magician had a hand in this?’ asked Jonny, holding up the newspaper.

‘It certainly looks that way,’ said Zack. ‘But there’s one way to find out for sure.’

‘OK …’ said Sophie slowly, starting to like the sound of where this might be going.

‘Well, the only copy of The Thieves’ Almanac is thought to be deep inside the Magic Circle library,’ Zack said. ‘What if we could lay our hands on it – maybe even take it to this DI Caulfield? That would help shed light on things, right?’ He patted the picture of the inspector, so that the man’s expression changed from a baffled grimace to a crazed grin, like the Queen’s face on a folded bank note.*

‘Zack, mate, you do know that if we get caught sneaking around the Magic Circle again, and especially the library, we’ll never be allowed back in?’ said Jonny.

‘Well then, let’s not get caught this time! That was your granddad’s advice, wasn’t it?’ Zack stood, smiling.

Sophie bit her lip, weighing things up. Zack’s taste for adventure was infectious. Yes, she wanted to know more about this notorious book, maybe even peek inside if they managed to find it. But Jonny was right: what if they got caught? President Pickle had made it clear that there would be no second chances. The Magic Circle was a club she’d dreamed of joining since she opened her very first magic book. It was the only place where a magician could flourish. Did she really want to jeopardize her future as a magician? But then, if the society was on the verge of collapse anyway, what did they have to lose? Access to some overly warm, stinky room? A lifelong friendship with Deanna? Lectures from the sexist, patronizing president? Ah yes, but what about the society’s rich history, its network of magicians, the library people kept talking about, the Grand Theatre …

‘Let’s do it!’ she said at last, eyeing the others with a renewed sense of mischief. ‘The worst that can happen is that we lose something we never really had in the first place.’

‘And the best that can happen,’ added Zack, ‘is that we show the Magic Circle how things should be done. That we’re not just a bunch of pesky kids!’

‘I’m loving this!’ said Jonny, waggling his fingers at Zack. ‘But when? And how?’

‘And where even is the library?’ asked Sophie.

‘Well, let’s not do anything today – not while Council are knocking about the place.’ Zack paced back and forth in front of the bench. ‘But if it’s anything like the last time I was here, there won’t be anyone about first thing in the morning. How about we get there early tomorrow, before the second day of the induction week starts?’ he suggested.

‘And how, my man, do you plan on getting us inside before the doors open?’ asked Jonny, eyes sparkling. ‘Anyone know how to pick locks?’

Alex nervously raised his hand.

Sophie, Jonny and Zack grinned at him.

‘Well I never!’ said Jonny. ‘It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?’

Alex lowered his hand as if he’d just owned up to making a smell.

‘Then that settles it,’ concluded Sophie. ‘See you all outside the Magic Circle tomorrow morning – seven a.m. sharp!’

‘Yep.’

‘Seven a.m.’

‘Sharp.’

‘Brilliant!’

‘OK.’

‘See … see you then.’

‘Yes, bye.’

‘Can’t wait!’

‘Safe journey, everyone.’

‘Hang on a minute – aren’t we all going the same way?’