A/N: Love Drake Stone. All I wanted to say. Enjoy.

Chapter 1: Notes and Nesting Dolls

I listened to Shelby jabber on about her latest crush while watching Dave drawing on his window with a sharpie. I frowned," You really shouldn't do that, Dave," I whispered to the kid in front of me.

He jumped a little and turned around then grinned goofily," It's gonna be really cool, trust me!" he whispered back before finishing the drawing as we passed the Empire State building.

As we passed the famous building, the drawing matched up perfectly to look like King Kong was clinging to the building and fighting off biplanes. I smiled and opened my mouth to compliment him when Beckey beat me to the punch," That's really cool, Dave," she said, smiling at him.

I frowned and faced Shelby again as she continued her jabber without missing a beat when we left the schoolbus. The teacher shushed her and explained what we were going to do while Dave passed a note down to Beckey. When everyone began to follow our teacher, I watched as Dave went to get the note. Right before he reached it, the wind blew it away, and Dave began chasing it, and I began chasing Dave.

After following Dave down into an alley near Chinatown, I followed him inside a shop named Arcana Cabana. I looked around and saw Dave talking with an older guy who was holding a silver dragon," Look, my teacher is waiting for me and is probably getting worried..."

" You are a terrible liar, Dave," I said, walking towards him and closing the door behind me as I walked in.

The older guy smiled at me then looked me over. I was a strange kid. Luke, my older brother, always said that my way of dressing always attracted the wrong kind of attention. I wore a black leather coat, a black and purple skirt, spider-web leggings, black combat boots, and a ring made of black crescent moons and silver skulls.

The older man smiled," My name is Balthazar Blake, it's nice to meet you, uh?" he extended his hand.

I looked at him and smiled, he seemed nice enough," Jessica Knight, nice to meet you too," I said, shaking his hand.

I moved to take my hand back, but Balthazar kept a tight grip and looked over my ring for a moment," Your ring is very special. It contains raw magic," he looked at me seriously," Where did you get this?"

I looked at Dave who shrugged then looked back at Balthazar," My mom gave it to me. She said it was an old family heirloom, but I was the only one it really fit," I explained, forcing myself to remain calm.

Balthazar nodded then let go of my hand," You are going to be a very powerful sorceress someday," he looked at Dave and held out the silver dragon again.

Dave picked up the dragon and watched it came alive and wrapped itself around his finger," Wow," Dave breathed.

Balthazar smiled again, I was learning to hate this guy's smile," You are going to be a very important sorcerer one day, Dave. And the first step for both of you, is to have your very own Incantus. Don't touch anything," he warned, disappearing further back in his shop.

Dave looked at me, and I shrugged before looking at my ring. What was so special about it? I turned my hand to the right slightly and saw, out of the corner of my eye, a skeleton tilt its head to the right slightly.

Suddenly, a wall burst open, and a matryoshka landed at my feet. I bent over and picked up, staring at the very angry looking man on the front," Uh, Dave, did you do something?" I asked, looking at him curiously. He shook his head, staring at the doll. I whacked him with it," You are a terrible liar," I laughed.

Suddenly, a low hiss came from the doll as it split open. I dropped the doll in surprise as cockroaches began pouring out of the doll and forming the angry man on the front. He straightened out his coat and looked down at Dave and I," When am I?" he asked.

" N-new York," Dave stuttered, pushing me in front of him.

" Not where, what is the year? You are wasting my time" the man said impatiently, pointing his cane at me.

Suddenly, the man was blasted into a window, and Balthazar walked back out with a big book and looking kind of angry. " What happened to 'don't touch anything'?" he asked, holding his hand up to keep the other man against the window.

I shuffled my feet and pointed at Dave," It was Dave's fault," I protested.

" That's not very sporting of you Balthazar," the man called from the window.

" Be quiet," Balthazar snapped then looked back at me and Dave," It's not you, he's been like this for a thousand years. I'll explain later," he explained. He looked at me," I need the Grimhold, where's that doll?" he asked.

I pointed at the doll on the floor, backing away from it as Balthazar moved to pick it up. Suddenly, Balthazar was blasted away from it, and I let out a small scream as the other man fell from the window. Obviously, they both wanted the doll, and one of them was evil, so I grabbed the doll and made a break for the door until I felt a hand grab onto my boot and trip me.

I let out another small scream as I hit the floor and saw a skeleton holding onto me. I kicked it repeatedly in the face until its jaw flew off. It looked at me as best it could with no eyeballs then began to pull on my boot again. I yelled at it and kicked its head clean off as I saw Balthazar and the cockroach man wrestling towards me," Run, Jessica!" Balthazar shouted, opening a tall vase and shoving the man's hand inside it along with his own.

Dave and I ran out as they turned to sand and were sucked into the vase. We ran outside, and I threw the doll to the side as our class ran up. I ran down the steps and stood next to Shelby as a guy pointed out a huge wet spot on Dave's pants and making a fool out of him.

Nearly ten years later, I ran into Shelby and I's apartment and snatched up my paper for my tesla coil demonstration. " Hey, Shelby! I'm gonna be in town for a bit, want anything?" I shouted.

" Yeah, front row tickets to see Drake Stone!" she screamed from her room.

I tilted my head to one side and poked my head into her room to see her dancing around like a madwoman," What are you talking about?" I asked, leaning against the door to her room.

She faced me and squealed," I got us front row tickets to see the world famous illusionist, Drake Stone!"

I raised an eyebrow," That's great, want anything while I'm gone?" I asked. She shook her head, and I left her to her weird self.

After acing my demonstration, I was waiting for the subway train when suddenly," Hello, Jessica," I whipped around to see Balthazar standing behind me.

After spluttering for words, I was saved by the train," I'm sorry, I don't know you," I lied, dashing onto the train.

" You and Dave are horrible liars," I heard from behind me. I whipped around to see Balthazar, once again, right behind me. " Where's the doll?" he asked.

I shrugged as the train came to my stop," No idea, gotta go!" I said hurriedly, running off the train and to my apartment before the creepy old guy could catch up to me.

I rushed back to my apartment and opened to door to see Shelby still dancing around excitedly about the tickets she had gotten for us. " I'm back!" I yelled, startling my ginger friend," So, when do we see this world famous illusionist?" I asked, leaning against the wall.

Shelby grinned," Two hours! Get dressed up! We've got VIP backstage passes and everything!" she squealed, already getting dressed.

I rolled my eyes and sauntered back to my room. I pulled off my old ACDC shirt and pulled on a black corset cami then pulled on a striped, sequined top. I switched out my black skinny jeans for a black, sequined micromini and ripped leggings. I then yanked on my black, back-lace, leather boots and began searching for my black, knit cap. Once I had found and put on my cap, I pulled on my crescent moon and skull ring with a matching necklace then tugged my black hair out of its braid and brushed it to where the dark purple highlights stood out.

I picked up my black iPhone 4 and shoved it into a small pocket in the side of my skirt and strode out to meet Shelby by the door," Well, let's head out!" I laughed, taking my ticket and backstage pass from her.

We ran down to the subway and caught a train to wherever the show was, I was honestly just along for the ride with Shelby. When we reached the building, Shelby practically dragged me to our seats and began jabbering away while we waited for the show to start.

When everyone was in their seats, the lights all went out and a ball of flame appeared suddenly onstage. I watched, captivated, as the ball of flame died down to reveal a tall, slim man with blonde hair that was brown at the roots. He greeted the crowd of screaming fangirls, and I quickly detected a Cockney accent in his voice. I watched with interest as he performed all sorts of illusions by himself until about halfway through the show when he asked for a volunteer.

Shelby began jumping up and down next to me as he looked our way. He looked at me and grinned," You," he said, pointing right at me," Girl on the front row. Black hair, purple highlights. Come on up here," he said, gesturing for me to get up on stage with him.

I stood up nervously, not enjoying the furious glare I got from Shelby as I carefully made my way up onto the stage. I quickly strode over to the illusionist and smiled nervously," Hello, what's your name, love?" he asked, holding out his hand.

I took a calming breath," Jessica," I replied nervously, trying not to think about the hundreds of people staring at me as I took his hand.

" Hello, Jessica. I'm Drake Stone, of course everyone knows that, but I'm being polite." he said confidently, kissing my hand. He flashed me a dazzling smile and gently grabbed my shoulders. " Alright, Jessica, I want you to stand right here and clear your mind for a moment then close your eyes. Now stay absolutely still," he instructed, taking a couple steps back.

I did as he told me then closed my eyes. Slowly, I felt my feet leave the ground and warmth all around me. A series of gasps rose from the crowd, and I fought the urge to open my eyes.

" Alright, now open those beautiful eyes, Jessica," Drake instructed from below me.

I opened my eyes and saw that I was floating in midair with several dragons made of fire chasing each other around me. I let out a little laugh of surprise as the dragons merged together and erupted in a shower of multicolored rose petals.

Drake strode over to where I was floating and snapped his fingers. I fell into his arms, and he flashed me another dazzling smile before letting me down and gesturing for the crowd to applaud. I gave a little bow, and Drake twirled his hands then created a purple lily and handed it to me before I returned to my seat.

For the rest of the show, I felt Shelby's glare boring through my head until Drake paused and asked for two volunteers. Shelby jumped up and down again, and I saw Drake smile as he saw her," Alright, ginger girl, front row," he said, pointing to Shelby and gesturing for her to come up onstage.

He scanned over the crowd and his eyes locked onto me again," Jessica, come up here again, please," he asked, holding out his hand. Standing directly in front of me on the stage. I stood up again, set the lily on my seat and took his hand.

Apparently, he was either really strong, or I was really light because he pulled me up onto the stage with ease. The crowd grew quiet as he had Shelby and I put on blindfolds and spun us around a few times.

I once again felt warmth around me then the blindfold suddenly fell away, and the crowd gasped. I opened my eyes and saw a blue dragon made of flames coiled around me, and a red phoenix with its wings extended around Shelby.

" Ladies and gents, this shall be my final act for the night, so this should be entertaining!" Drake said, turning to face Shelby and I. He began manipulating the fiery creatures into a fierce duel and made it to where Shelby and I seemed like damsels in distress.

Suddenly, the Phoenix rushed at me as the dragon rushed at Shelby. Drake jumped in between us as the fiery beasts collided and disappeared in a flash of fire and multicolored smoke. I grinned at Shelby as we hurried off the stage and back to our seats where I grabbed my lily, and Shelby grabbed her small handbag.

She bounced on the balls of her feet and grinned madly," Let's go backstage and talk with him!" she squealed, grabbing my hand and dragging me off to wherever she wanted to go.

As we rushed down the hallways backstage, Shelby managed to slingshot me into a man and knock us both over in the process. I jumped to my feet and helped the poor guy to his feet and apologized profusely before I realized I had crashed right into Drake Stone.

Shelby gripped my arm to where I couldn't feel it anymore, and I shook her hand off as Drake grinned at us both," Hello girls," he said smoothly, slipping an arm around both of our waists. Suddenly, I understood why Shelby adored this guy so much, not that I'd ever tell her that, and forced myself not to blush or do anything fangirly.

He flashed me another dazzling smile, and I nearly tossed my dignity out the window," You both did wonderful onstage tonight. Have you ever been to one of my shows before?" he asked. Shelby nodded vigorously while I slowly shook my head 'no'.

He grinned," Well, I trust you both enjoyed the show," he said, my dignity once again threatening to fly out the window as fangirly thoughts raced through my head. Shelby and I nodded, making Drake smile," Speechless, I see," he teased, getting us to walk with him towards his limo.

Suddenly, I remembered that I had exams the next morning and, from the look on Shelby's face, so did she. We planted our feet firmly on the ground and slipped away from him.

" Sorry, we have to rush home. It was really amazing meeting you," Shelby said, regret dripping from her words.

" We really are sorry, but we have to get home fast. It was great meeting you," I said, racing down the hall with Shelby.

The surprised look plastered on Drake's face was definitely going to haunt me for the next few minutes as we rushed back to our apartment. When we reached our humble abode, I quickly took a shower, pulled on some soft, black sweatpants and an old, Queen t-shirt before collapsing on my bed.

" Hello, Jessica," a dark, sinister voice said from the shadowy corner of my room. I bolted upright and made sure my ring was on as I faced the source of the voice. It was the cockroach guy who was trapped in the vase ten years ago.