Chapter One
I can't go on like this, thought Danny Sinclair. I've been in hiding for over two years now and still no sign of Max.
Ever since the night of the finale of the reality show: World's Greatest Kid Magician, Danny had basically fallen off the side of the Earth. Not literally of course, but he had changed his identity, and escaped the country. The reality show had been in New Orleans, and as soon as he made Max disappear as a part of his act, Alyson had helped him board the first train out of Louisiana. It went strait to San Francisco, with a short stop to get fuel in Denver. Alyson was the only kid who knew about the whereabouts of Danny.
Of course, Max, being the clever jerk he was, eventually found out that Danny was in California, so Danny was on the move yet again. This time out of the country, to France. So now, here Danny was waiting for something to happen, in his small apartment in Paris.
Danny practically jumped ten feet high out of his seat when he heard the knocking on the door.
"Who is it," he asked nervously.
"Calm down Danny, it's Alyson."
"Oh, Alyson, thank goodness it's you."
He opened the door to see Alyson's bright smile and beautiful face. He hated to admit, but he was beginning to develop a big crush on her.
"I like your place," Alyson commented as Danny led her into the apartment. Looking out the window, she could see the Eiffel Tower, across the Seine River. "Nice view!"
"Uh, thanks," Danny answered, a bit awkwardly. "So how do you like it in Paris?"
"It's amazing! I've always dreamed of coming here as a child. I never realized everything was so…beautiful here. And big too, I mean the Eiffel Tower is so much bigger than it looks like in those post cards you sent me when you first moved here, and Notre Dame is spectacular too, with the gargoyles and all."
Danny nodded. "Anyway, have you heard anything?"
"Heard anything about…what?"
"You know Max, is he still trying to come after me?"
"Well, duh. You know he is. But you've got to stop hiding like this dude. Sooner or later the time will come when you have to face Max. Don't worry, if you master your magic, then you will totally be able to kick his butt!"
Danny didn't answer.
"What's wrong?"
Still no answer.
"Danny, Max is here in Paris."
"WHAT! Crap! That means I have to move to India now!"
Alyson burst out laughing. "See man, you're paranoid. You need to lighten up."
"Easy for you to say, you aren't the one being stalked by a wizard maniac!"
"So," Alyson said, this time more seriously, "what do you have new to show me?"
"Well, there is this cool new trick I learned from this sweet book that let's me turn into an animal."
"Ok," Alyson said, "let's see it."
Danny nodded and began to concentrate really hard on something. Then, he took a deep breath and whispered some magic spell to himself. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke he transformed from his human form to that of a pigeon.
"Great," said Alyson laughing again, "but how is turning into a dumb bird going to help you defeat Max?"
"It isn't," Danny the pigeon squawked. "This was a mistake. I meant to turn into an owl." The pigeon turned back into Danny, who was scratching his head in a confused manor. "What did I do wrong, I've done that trick almost twenty times by now."
"Well, it obviously isn't going to get you anywhere," Alyson said. "Why do you want to turn into animals anyway?"
"Well, for one thing, it's pretty fun. And for another thing, if I turned into a tiger or a bear or something, I could kill Max."
"Well, I wouldn't bet on something like that," suggested Alyson. "If you want my opinion, and I know you do so don't deny it, I seriously think that you need to come up with some more tricks up your sleeve. Meanwhile, I brought my camcorder, and I want to get some cool shots of this city."
"Really," asked Danny. "I thought after our reality show with Max, you decided the show business wasn't for you anymore."
"Nah, I love what I do," Alyson said. "I'm trying to get this cool new job at a reality show in Miami."
Danny shrugged. Whatever floats her boat I guess? Meanwhile, I need to find some way to defeat Max. It won't be long before he discovers me…