The shadows shifted, coiling like tendrils. One of them broke from the ground and rose up. It was human- shaped. The shadow stepped toward him. The flashlight beam disappeared into it. Gasping, Sam backed away. With a yelp, he tripped over a grave marker and sprawled in the wet grass. The flashlight rolled out of reach.
The shade rushed toward him. Sam opened his mouth to scream, and the darkness flowed into his mouth, filling him with coldness.
Sam closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was someone else.
FIVE
Danny showed up early at Gustav’s house. The old man answered the door, a cup of coffee clutched in one hand. His eyebrows furrowed.
“What are you doing here, boy?”
“I ditched school again. Something happened last night. I need to study more.”
“Yes. Study is good. After school, you come here and study.”
“Screw that. I want to study
“You must learn patience. That is important. Patience is one of the keys to magic. Go back to school and study there.”
“Why? If I can do magic—why do I need school?”
Gustav’s eyes glittered. Laughing, he sat the coffee mug down and swatted Danny across the back of his head. The blow was light, but sent Danny staggering.
“Hey,” Danny shouted. “What’d you do that for?”
“Do you want to argue or do you want answer to question?”
“Answer my question. Why should I go to school?”
“Why? To know magic, you need to know the world. They are the same thing, boy. I told you before, you need knowledge. Magic is no good without knowledge.”
Gustav picked up his coffee mug and Danny followed him inside. The old Russian collapsed into a sagging recliner. The springs groaned. The television droned in the background. Reagan was meeting with Gorbachev, and Bruce Springsteen had just announced a tour for
“Something happened last night, yes?”
Danny nodded. “On my way home, I thought I heard something down by that old Greek restaurant that closed. You know where I mean?”
Gustav nodded. “Yes. I miss it. They had good food.”
“Well, I was there. I…I got scared. I leaned against the building and closed my eyes and…”
Gustav leaned forward, his gaze intent.
“When I opened my eyes again, I was home. It’s like I jumped or something.”
“You opened a door, traveled through the Labyrinth. How did you do that?”
“I don’t know.” Danny shrugged. “I read a little about it last night, but I don’t know how I did it.”
“But I know, because I went to school.”
“You’re also a sorcerer.”
“Nyet.” Gustav shook his head. “I study and practice, even still. That is all. I never stop learning.”
“Yeah, but you study here, not in school.”
Gustav lit a cigarette and threw the pack to Danny. “I study everything. The more I know, the more I can do. That is how I join the Kwan.”
“The what?”
Gustav shook his head. “Never mind. Is not important. What is important is that my knowledge makes my magic strong. Like shop class and geometry?”
“You lost me.”
“Geometry. It is class in school, no?”
“How does frigging geometry help me with magic?”
“If you know geometry, you know how much space is in a box. If you know the space in the box, you can fill it.”
Gustav handed him the lighter. Danny lit his cigarette, inhaled, and then passed the lighter and the cigarette pack back to him.
“Well,” Danny said, “I can fill the box by pouring water in the opening.”
Gustav scrunched up his face and imitated Danny’s words. If it was supposed to be a perfect impersonation, it failed. Danny glared at him.
“You have a good brain, boy. Use it.”
He opened the pack of cigarettes and dumped them out on the coffee table. Then he closed the pack again and handed it to Danny. “Here. How much does this hold?”
“Twenty cigarettes.”
“Ah, yes, but how much water? How much gold?”
“It’s not gonna hold water. It leaks. And who cares how much gold it holds? It’s not like we have any.”
Gustav snatched the empty pack from Danny’s hands. He held it out in front of him and closed his eyes. He muttered something in Russian. Then he opened his eyes again and tossed it back Danny. The pack hit him in the chest. It shouldn’t have hurt, but it did. Danny grunted as the box bounced off his thigh. He reached down and picked it up. It was heavy—no longer empty.
Slowly, Danny opened it and shook the contents into his palm. He stared at the dull yellow lump.
Gold.
“How? How the hell did you do that?”
Gustav tapped his head with one long finger. “I learned how. Magic is limited by knowledge. You have to know what you want and how to make it happen, yes? What is chemical composition of gold? Do you know? If not, you can make pretty colored rock instead of the real thing. Magic is a tool. Like a knife, or wheel. Is only as good as what you know.”
Danny held the gold in his trembling hands. He didn’t know how much gold went for per ounce, but he guessed he was holding that dirt bike in his hands—and then some. His heart rate increased. He licked his lips. While he stared at it, Gustav got up and went into the kitchen. He returned with a fresh cup of coffee and stubbed his cigarette out in an ashtray.
“Here.” Gustav held out his hand.
Danny regretfully returned the gold. Then he glanced around the living room. The place was a dump.
“How come you live here, Gustav? I mean, if you can make gold, then you could live in any mansion you wanted. Why even live in Brackard’s Point? You could be in a Manhattan penthouse.”
“I like it here. I get a mansion then I have to make money all the time just to keep it up. Here, I have little house. I clean it myself and don’t worry about money. I need more, I can always get it. Money is a tool, too. Just like magic.”
“Yeah, but it’s a nice tool to use.”
“You are young. You do not understand.” Gustav tapped the gold lump. “This can buy you things, but then you have to make more. Sooner or later, people ask questions you don’t want to answer.”
He handed the gold back to Danny.
“I can keep it?” Danny asked, surprised.
Gustav nodded. “Da, you keep. But, you also go to school instead of hunting crabs for money. Go to school because you need to learn, yes?”
That was all the convincing Danny needed. Already, he was figuring out how to cash in the gold and where he’d keep the money until he could get the dirt bike. No way could he let his mom find the cash. Not this time.
He paused in his thoughts.
