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"That was awesome."
Spin jumped, whipping around to face forward. A tiny brunette stood
before her where the back hall had been empty a second before.
"Stop doing stuff like that, Lark.” Spin huffed, her heart rate pounding at its cage. "Keep your magic tricks on the stage where they belong."
“This is a stage.”
Spin reached out and gave the woman a playful shove. Glitter flittered from Lark’s shoulders like fairy dust. Spin looked at her friend quizzically.
Lark shrugged, casting more glitter from her person. "Part of the new act. The Great Nitwitini thinks it adds to the magic. More sparkle to razzle dazzle them."
"Well, at least he’s stopped trying to saw you in half."
Lark rubbed at her belly and winced. That trick had not gone well during their practice sessions. The young magician never seemed able to get the hang of the oft-performed trick. Even Spin, who provided the music for their act, had been able to see through the illusion. As Nitwitini, or Northwood as his true surname was, grew increasingly frustrated, he also grew increasingly careless with the trick that included the use of a blade.
Lark had put her foot down about it. Luckily, it was while her legs were still attached to her body. As a magician's assistant, Lark had been put through the wringer. Literally.
"Are you sticking around here for the after after party?” Lark asked. “Or you headed out?"
Spin shook her head. "Nah, DJ Satisfriction is up next."
Both women cringed.
“All you had to say was the party is about to be over," said Lark.
DJ Satisfriction had a big bankroll, courtesy of his parents, and no skills. But he was a celebrity, so he brought in the crowd. Spin had warmed them up for him. Now he would cool them down, and the true partygoers would go off and find a new party. It was the Millennial way. They party hopped until dawn.
"Let's grab a bite," said Lark. "I'm starving. You're paying.”
Before they could take two steps, Lark reached down and grabbed Spin’s hand. She whirled on her friend with arched brows.
“You have gotten paid tonight, haven't you?”
Spin shrugged. She’d forgotten to go to the manager’s office. She did this for the love, not the money. Before Spin could open her mouth, Lark steered them to the owner's office. Spin knew better than to protest the tiny bundle that was Lark Voorhees. She carried a wand and, unlike the magician she assisted, Lark knew how to use it.
The club manager looked up and grimaced when he saw Lark enter his office. No words were necessary. He didn’t hesitate. Spin was certain the man didn’t want a repeat of last week. Lark was just as good at making things disappear as she was at making them appear.
The manager reached in his desk drawer and drew out a wad of cash. "I was just coming to find you, Spin. Here's your pay."
Lark snatched it and counted. The owner gritted his teeth as she did so. A drop of sweat trickled down his brow.
"It's one hundred Euros short," said Lark.
“What?” His brows rose in surprise. “It’s what Spin and I agreed on. Right, Spin?”
It wasn’t.
“Oh?” said Lark. “Well if you agreed to short her, I’m sure that money will appear someway somehow.”
Lark turned back to the door, a mischievous grin on her face as she made her way to Spin.
“Wait,” the manager called before Lark could cross the threshold.
The look on Lark’s face screamed thought so.
He dove under his desk to the door to a hidden safe open that Spin had only learned was there after Lark’s last visit with her to the office. Lark smirked when she saw his actions. She could get into it with no trouble. It wouldn’t be the first time. He reemerged just a minute later with a fresh note.
