Real Magic by Stuart Jaffe Page B

skills, indeed. Who taught you?"
    "My great-grandfather." The pasta tasted fantastic and the beer washed it down well.
    "I picked it up from a few traveling magicians and that book, Expert at the Card Table . You ever read that? It's quite good. Really opened my eyes back when I was a kid. Even thought about making a go of being a professional magician."
    "What stopped you?"
    Vincent gestured into the air. "Life. People have no money, no jobs. I take care of my sister and that costs, too. We get by, but a professional's life requires constant travel which is expensive. What are you gonna do? That's just life. What about you? You could be a professional."
    Duncan chuckled. "Not for me. Pappy always wanted me to do that, but that's a life that never would have worked for me. For one thing, you've got to deal with all the venue owners and their rules and audience expectations and all of that."
    "Ain't that the truth. And worse, you work all those years to perfect a handful of effects, and then you're stuck doing them over and over and over. Nobody wants to see anything new from you. It's like that guy, Goldin. He's out in New York. Coney Island, I think. He does this trick where he saws a lady in half. You ever see that?"
    "Of course, that's a classic —" Duncan stopped with a fork of pasta waiting to go into his gaping mouth. He stared at Vincent in disbelief. It wasn't a classic trick — not in 1934.
    In fact, the trick started out in England, developed by P.T. Selbit in the '20s, and became hugely popular worldwide. Horace Goldin worked out his own method for the illusion and licensed it to other magicians — fifty bucks a week plus a percentage of the house. It was a gold mine for him, and he went after anybody who dared to perform the trick without a license. He even prevented Selbit from performing his own trick during an American tour.
    It was one of the great stories behind magic, and Pappy loved to tell it. But that was all less than a decade ago here. And that reminded Duncan of his situation.
    He had money now which meant focusing on finding that door. Chatting up with a guy and making friends was not a smart move. Especially considering that he had traveled back in time. Duncan had never gotten into time travel stories much, but he understood the concepts and dangers involved. He had to be careful of what he said to Vincent. Everything he had done already, everything he would do, everything he would say, all of it could have an enormous impact upon the future. Couldn't it? He wasn't sure but he thought that's what most time travel stories were about — screwing up the future and then trying to fix it. Had he already messed things up? Cheating those guys at cards — had that somehow screwed up the universe?
    "Hey pal," Vincent said, "you okay?"
    "I don't know," Duncan said for fear of saying anything else.
    "Don't look so glum. We cleaned up tonight. We got some cash to spend. Heck, there'll always be plenty of days to look glum. So, let's have a few more beers and relax." Vincent snapped for the waiter's attention and pointed to the beers. After finishing the last of his old beer, Vincent reached into his pocket and brought out his deck of cards. He tossed them on the table near Duncan. "Let me see your pass."
    Duncan stared at the cards. Vincent sounded just like Pappy, and for a horrifying moment, he wondered if Vincent was Pappy. His stomach swirled at the idea. But then he remembered that Vincent had mentioned a sister and Pappy had no siblings. With a relieved sigh, Duncan picked up the cards.
    Vincent pointed at him. "I see it in you. The second you put those cards in your hands, you were feeling better."
    "In a way," Duncan said, shuffling the cards and enjoying the feel on his fingertips. "It was hitting me just now how little control I have in my life, but these cards — I can control these." And with that, he decided he couldn't worry about the future. If he fretted over his every