The Doorknob Society (The Doorknob Society Saga) (2 page)

I slung my bags over my shoulder and walked back into the shared living space to find Dad clutching his duffle bag.

“That was quick,” he said, though looked relieved. I knew he wanted to get out of there ASAP and so did I.

“We’re heading to the airport. No stops and no lip either.”

I rolled my eyes at his back as we left the hotel room. We walked down the narrow corridor and stopped by the series of elevator doors.

Dad was shifting from one foot to the other and kept pushing the down button even though it was lit. I didn’t say anything remembering that he’d warned about giving him lip.

The hotel seemed warmer than usual. I tugged at my hoodie and wished I had thrown it in my bag. Dad had stopped pushing the button and was stepping back slowly and that’s when I felt the hair on my neck rise and stand on end. My stomach twisted in knots and a wave of nausea washed over me and I stumbled trying to keep my balance.

Dad’s arm wrapped around me and relief flooded me... until I looked up and saw his eyes narrow and stare straight ahead. My skin heated and prickled as I followed his gaze to the stairwell door and realized that I must be getting sick since the door appeared as if it was glowing.

Dad and I jumped when the door swung open and a gust of warm stale air rushed into the room blowing my hoodie off my head. The feeling in my gut doubled and Dad’s arm squeezed tighter around me.

“You should have stayed off the radar, Masters. Not using your powers kept us from locating you. We had no idea where you were.”

A dark figure surrounded by a crimson halo stepped through the doorway. The tips of my fingers went numb and the earth felt as if it was moving beneath my feet. Everything came into sharp focus around me, my senses suddenly alive with new input. The azure glow around the door shimmered and pulsated as if with life. The faint odor of smoke drifted in from behind the man.

Dad glanced down at me and by the look in his eyes, I knew this was bad... really bad.

He spun me around and yelled, “Run!”

I didn’t hesitate... I ran.

The stale odor followed us so close I could taste it. It made me gag and I knew something bad was about to happen. The explosion threw me into the wall, my shoulder slamming into it with such force that it spun me around. Smoke and flames filled the hall and I coughed trying to clear my throat. I rubbed my eyes looking harder to try and catch a glimpse of Dad, cursing myself for leaving him to face a crazy man alone.

The smoke parted and suddenly Dad was racing toward me. I had no time to feel relief that my dad was alive, his hand reached out grabbing me and dragging me along as we bolted down the hallway. The corridor split into a T and we turned right and kept running, stopping at a maintenance door. Dad looked behind him and then back to the door in front of him. He reached his hand out toward the knob and my stomach churned again.

“I don’t think hiding in a closet is going to help, Dad.”

I closed my eyes trying to blot out the nausea that was growing stronger by the minute. I wanted to smack myself. I mean come on, I’ve traveled the globe, assisted my dad in some of the most dangerous illusions around and tonight I had walked along the edge of a multi-story building; and yet an explosion and crazy man chasing us and I wilt like a flower? Not cool.

I opened my eyes, ready to face and survive our ordeal, when my surroundings shifted again. Now instead of shimmering red, everything glowed soft blue. Dad had already opened the door and the room beyond seemed to swirl and shift in colors and change until it looked almost familiar to me. I was thinking how comforting that was right up until I fell flat on my face.

Chapter 2

Status: I wake up in crazy town.

The floor was cold and hard against my skin when suddenly I was lifted into Dad’s arms. He placed me on a couch, my head swimming, then he was on his phone talking anxiously. I was trying to focus but the world felt like it tilted at a sharp angle and it was all I could do to keep myself from falling over. I clutched the couch cushion and tried to sit up but my stomach churned and I thought I might get sick. I stopped moving and looked around the room, it seemed familiar but I couldn’t place it. I knew I recognized it but it was as if my brain couldn’t keep up with my own thoughts.

“It was him, Levi, he found me. I’m willing to bet he’s right on my trail, he knows where I’ll run. I need help?”

Dad was talking so fast I wasn’t sure if I was hearing him right. The man in black, Dad had known him, and he was dangerous, that much I figured out. Was he another magician, someone I hadn’t met before? Had he used some type of illusion to make all that weird stuff happen? I couldn’t think straight and, damn it, I really wanted too.

“Thanks, yeah I appreciate it.”

Dad snapped his cell phone closed and shoved it in his pocket. He turned to see me staring at him and sat beside me on the couch.

“Chloe, I know you’re disoriented but you have to pay attention.” He grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look directly at him. “No matter what happens don’t leave the house, is that clear?”

I knew what he was saying was serious but at the moment I was trying not to barf all over him. “Okay.” I managed to get that much out without losing my lunch.

“Good, stay here.”

He left the room and I heard him take several steps most likely down a hallway and then I heard a door close. I gritted my teeth and pushed against the arm of the couch forcing myself into a sitting position. I took a quick look around the room again and found myself facing a wall of family photos. Most of which had me playing on a beach or running around in a pirate costume or digging up Grandma’s rose bushes in the backyard.

I knew exactly where I was. The place looked the same as it had six months ago when Dad and I had left... 312 Mission Way in Cape May, New Jersey, had been in the Masters family for generations. My gramps had told me that the first Masters to settle here and build on the land had been pirates—being four—I of course believed every word of the tale. I spent countless summers digging under grandma’s rose bushes trying to find hidden treasure. The original home had burnt down at some point and the home I knew had been built in its spot.

How the hell could this be possible? A few minutes ago we were in Paris, weren’t we? I mean I wasn’t feeling well and all that stuff with the guy dressed in black. Maybe I was having some type of break down.

How did we get here?
I looked out the window double checking to make sure this wasn’t some odd dream. Sure enough I could see Grandma’s rose bushes peeking up underneath the window. My stomach was starting to settle and I felt like I might be able to stand. I swung my legs off the side of the couch and placed them firmly on the floor. I knew this house like the back of my hand, this wasn’t a dream. The scorch marks around the fireplace were exactly like I remember, heck even the crack in the wood floor where I had always tripped as a kid was there.

I pushed off the couch and stepped out of the living room into the main hallway. The front door was to the left where Dad had gone and down the other way was the kitchen. He’d told me to stay in the house and since I still wasn’t sure what was going on, it seemed like a good idea.

I rested my hand on the wall to maintain my balance and turned to get a drink of water from the kitchen when the whole house shuddered like it’d been hit by a bomb. I grabbed the doorframe and held on as everything shook, the sound of glass crashing floated toward me from the kitchen.

“What the hell was that?” I spun around and saw light glimmering under the front door, similar to what had happened when the man in black had attacked us. And Dad was outside!

I ran for the front door fighting against my unsteadiness and grabbed the doorknob. A rush of adrenaline washed over my body like never before. I turned the knob, swung the door open and walked into a world of insanity.

Dad was at the bottom of the porch stairs and his hands were glowing azure blue, which wasn’t that odd since I had seen him do that trick a ton of times in his magic act. The odd part was the man who stood next to him, his hands glowed crimson and he swung them at my dad.

“Dad!” Instinct took over and I went for Dad not paying attention to what was going on around me. As soon as the red glow touched my head it blurred my vision and as it started to rush over me, my hair stood on end. The power built like a vise around me and I squeezed my eyes closed and tensed waiting for the impact.

Instead a strong arm slipped around my waist and I was yanked aside and into the air as if I weighed nothing more than a feather. I opened my eyes to see a man holding me while his other arm, actually his tight fist, slammed my attacker in the face. My would-be assailant’s head snapped back and he dropped from the forceful blow.

“You okay?”

My new friend still had one arm around my waist and he kind of balanced me against his hip. I was shocked to see that he appeared to be about my age—who am I kidding—I was more shocked to see how good looking he was. His dark blue-grey eyes stared at me with concern and he wore a wide smile. In the middle of a fight and the guy is smiling. Damn if that didn’t smack of confidence.

“Yeah.” I nodded dumbly and immediately regretted it. Great, the guy saves your life and you say ‘yeah’, that’s really showing your gratitude. I gently pushed at his arm, stepping away from him, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the closeness.

“Stay here,” he said and spun around pulling what looked like a massive wrench off his belt and ran to the other end of the porch at the guy who had just vaulted the railing and was heading in our direction.

My new
best
friend—yup, I elevated him from new to best since he was doing an awesome job of kicking ass—met him half way and swung his wrench like the mighty hammer of Thor. His opponent’s arm shot up and he did some trick where he created a shield of blue out of nowhere. Neat trick, I needed to remember that one.

I looked around for my dad and saw that he was still engaged in a fight with the same guy but they were now in the street. Sparks of energy flew in every direction as they battled back and forth. None of this made any sense but it all felt so real, I mean could I be dreaming or was this actually happening?

As the daughter of a magician I’ve been taught to question everything and I always tried to figure out the trick behind the illusion. But these bizarre things that were happening right in front of me, I was having a hard time explaining away.

The grunts from across the porch snapped me back to my current situation. My would-be hero was fighting off another guy but the one he had laid out earlier had stumbled to his feet and headed for my friend. I wasn’t about to let that happen.

I closed the distance between us in two long steps, brought my foot up and snapped it into the back of his knee. It buckled from the hit and he fell to the ground. He sneered, no groan, no scream, just a sneer. What was this guy made of... steel? He brought his arm up and I knew what was coming. He was pulling the glowing-red-arm trick. My stomach turned as he did it and I didn’t wait to see how the trick ended. I shot my hand out and cracked him square in the face. He was stunned and fell backwards smacking his head on the porch floor.

“Nice.”

I glanced up to see my rescuer smiling in my direction again. I did my best not to blush but I know I failed miserably.

“Thanks.” I couldn’t help but stare. The guy stood over six feet and was built like he had spent a lot of time using that wrench and not just on people. He had short brown hair and his smile appeared natural as if he wore it all the time. I bit my lip and forced myself to change gears. I wasn’t about to turn into some starry-eyed girl in the middle of all this craziness. “What’s going on?”

“Isn’t it obvious? An attack,” he grinned, rushed passed me and jumped off the top of the stairs tackling another man who was racing toward my dad.

The tips of my fingers began to tingle and the sensation rushed up my arms and rained down over my body. I wasn’t the only one feeling it. Dad glanced around like he was expecting something to happen. Without warning Dad’s opponent turned and ran and did something I didn’t expect at all. He performed Dad’s
Disappearing-Man
trick. A crimson door suddenly appeared out of nowhere and he opened it, ran in, and the door disappeared behind him. I’d never seen anyone else do that trick but Dad; he’d never even shown me how to perform it.

The other attackers began to do the same, some disappearing through red doors others through blue like my father’s. Then a new set of doors appeared glowing silver and two men stepped out, both wore rumpled coats and gray fedoras. The larger of the two walked straight toward Dad and they began talking.

I started down the porch steps and my rescuer grabbed my arm stopping me. “You better not.” He smiled and I for some reason believed him, though that didn’t mean I couldn’t question him.

“Why, what is all of this? And who are you?”

“Slade, Michael Slade.” He offered his hand and I took it, his large hand swallowing mine in a firm grip. “You’re Chloe right?”

“Yes, Chloe Masters.” So not only did this Slade guy save my butt, he already knew who I was. “Who are they?” I pointed to the two men talking to my dad.

“HVO most likely.” He shrugged and sat down on the porch stairs.

“What’s an HVO?” I sat down beside him watching Dad and trying to figure out just what was going on.

“Honorable and Venerable Order of Detective Inspectors, they’re like the police for our kind.”

“Our kind?”

“That’s a little harder to explain, I think I better leave that to your dad. Suffice it to say... we’re the good guys.”

“And you?”

“Me,” he chuckled and leaned back to rest against the step, “I hope I’m one of the good guys.”

“Thanks for the assist earlier, I don’t know what that guy had planned for me and I’m glad I didn’t find out.”

“No worries, your dad called in a favor and I was glad to help out.”

“You make a habit of busting heads with a wrench?” Good, Chloe, be sarcastic to the hot guy who just helped you. I can be such a wiseass at times as my last boyfriend loved to remind me.