A/N - Thanks so much for the reviews, favourites and follows so far, it means the world, keep them coming! Made this chapter a little longer to compensate for the prologue being short. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!

Chapter One

A few months earlier.

Autumn evenings were Eden's favourite. Above the city the sky was a collision of blues and yellows, the sun still fading. She knew she'd much rather be watching the sunset than a magic show. Weren't they for little kids birthday parties? Putting a needle through a balloon without popping it, gaudy flowers suddenly appearing in the magician's hand, guessing which cup the ball was under. When Maisie had announced to everyone that she'd bought four tickets to something called the 'Four Horsemen', Eden had just groaned. But it had been decided; Eden would cough up her hard-earned money to spend on tickets to a magic show she didn't want to see. It was typical. Although they were a tight-knit friendship group, they always seemed to forget that Eden earned the least out of all of them. Her pride just wouldn't allow her to remind them of that.

Which was why she now found herself stood on the pavement outside her flat, craning her neck to see around the passers-by and oncoming traffic.

She pulled her blazer tighter around her when a familiar yellow sign materialised down the road. She quickly flagged the cab down. Maisie had told Eden to wear heels for the occasion, which meant there was no way in hell she was traipsing up and down the tiny stairs in the underground. So, however extortionate the rate, it had to be a cab.

"Where to?" the driver asked, his voice sounding faraway as it hummed through the speakers.

"The Royal Albert Hall, please," she said, dropping onto the seat.

She was just reaching across to shut the door when her hand was suddenly knocked aside, a figure darting into the taxi and slamming the door in one fluid motion.

Eden snatched her hand back, instinctively leaning away. Well, what a great start to the evening; she had a hitch-hiker.

She stared at him dumbfounded for a second before her scrambling mind grabbed two words and flung them from her mouth. "Excuse me!"

At the same time the driver shouted, "Hey, mate, get out!" His voice didn't sound very intimidating rattling through the speakers.

The young man looked at the driver through the partition and then at Eden. His hair was short and brown, his eyes a matching colour. But what Eden really noticed was how startled he looked, as though he'd hopped in the cab and hadn't expected to find it occupied.

She found herself edging back along the seat ever so slightly, pushing her bag away from him. Something about this smelt off.

He raised his hands, and when he spoke she immediately recognised his accent: American. "I- look, I'm really sorry, I know you got in this taxi before me but would you please just let me hitch a ride? I'll-"

She stared at him, brow furrowed, sure that she was hearing him wrong. "I'm not being funny but would you please get out? I have somewhere to be."

Despite her interruption he continued, his eyes imploring her, wide and brown. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I'll go wherever you're heading, I'll even pay for the journey, I just really need to get out of here, like right now."

He glanced over his shoulder out the back window, apparently looking for someone, and that action made Eden even more nervous.

The cab driver had turned in his seat and was jerking his thumb towards the door. His voice came over the speakers again, his tone harsh. "This young lady got in before you, you need to get out, son."

The young man seemed to be getting more frantic by the second, still holding his hands up, presumably to show he wasn't dangerous.

Eden sighed heavily. "Just get out, please."

"I can't," he answered, throwing another look over his shoulder, and this time Eden followed his gaze. Further down the street, the bobbing heads walking in the distance seemed to part in waves, like a ripple was spreading through them. It didn't take that ripple long to get closer and closer to the cab, and it was then that Eden caught flashes of two men rushing through the crowd. Whatever was happening, it clearly had something to do with the guy in her cab, and he didn't look too overjoyed about it.

She'd seen fights before on nights out. They always made her feel helpless. No matter how much she wanted to help the person being attacked, no matter what they'd done to deserve or not deserve it, she could never bring herself to intervene. What help would she be, a twenty-year-old girl, her vision hazy from alcohol?

Eden looked at the young man, reason screaming at her to stop. He was still pleading her with his eyes, and he licked his lips nervously. "Are they...?" she tried to begin, nodding towards the commotion outside that was barrelling closer with every passing second.

He nodded. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn't going to end well for him. Eden didn't think she could sit back and watch another person get beat up, so, despite everything, she did what she felt was right.

"You're paying, and we're going where I'm heading," she snapped at him, her heart thumping in her chest. She turned to the driver and said, "It's fine, just go to the Albert Hall."

The driver shook his head. "He's not-" he started, but Eden interjected.

"It's fine, I know him, honestly, just please drive," she lied. She could feel anticipation tense around her lungs.

The driver sighed and lazily put the car into gear. "Fine, but any funny business and you're both out, alright?"

"Okay," Eden answered.

She sat back and found the guy looking out the window again. She looked too. The cab had just merged with the traffic when two men ground to a halt where it had been. They looked about frankly, but there were at least two identical black cabs behind the one they were looking for. They'd lost him.

The guy's posture visibly relaxed, and he released the breath he'd been holding. He looked to Eden and smiled. It was wide and bright. "Thanks."

Eden shifted in her seat, keeping her bag on her other side. Despite her moment of mercy, she didn't trust him in the slightest. He'd clearly done something wrong to warrant two blokes chasing him down the street. She just wanted this drive over and done with quickly. The magic show was beginning to look more appealing. "No problem," she mumbled.

He kept smiling. "No seriously, thank you, you saved me from getting my ass kicked back there," he continued, laughing.

Eden managed a hesitant smile. "It's fine, really."

The cab descended into awkward silence. Eden imagined herself flinging open the door and rolling out onto the road, but then again she thought she'd rather take her chances with a possible mugger than oncoming traffic.

"I'm Jack, by the way," he piped up. He was repeatedly tapping the tips of his fingers together.

"Eden," she replied, crossing her arms. She wondered if the driver could hear them introducing themselves, destroying the lie she'd blurted out earlier. If he could, he didn't care.

"So why the Albert Hall?" Jack asked.

Eden felt herself blushing involuntarily with embarrassment. "Seeing a magic show with my friends."

Jack's grin widened, and Eden didn't know whether that was good or bad. "Do you like magicians?"

She couldn't tell if he was mocking her or if it was a serious question. She shrugged. "Take them or leave them, really."

His grin only remained. "Well I like magicians."

Eden found herself smiling. His own smile was infectious. "Maybe I'll like them after tonight."

"Maybe you will." He laughed again and Eden joined in nervously. She felt a little bad for doubting his intentions. Maybe he wasn't a mugger, maybe he was just an honest guy who got into a bit of trouble.

It didn't matter now anyway. It wasn't too long a drive to the Royal Albert Hall from Eden's flat, and it was at that moment the building swung into view, lit up brightly against the dusk. The cab rolled to a stop and Eden glanced up at the meter. £10.20.

She was reaching for her bag when Jack's voice said, "I've got it, remember?"

"Oh yeah, thanks."

"It's the least I can do," he said with a half-smile as he pulled his wallet from his dark jeans, fishing out a tenner and a fiver.

As the driver took the money and Jack waited for his change, Eden swiped her bag and began to climb out of the cab. She was looking around for her friends when she heard the slam of the car door. She expected Jack to just go on his way, but she jumped when he appeared silently beside her.

"Hey," he said, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket, "enjoy the magic show, yeah?"

He started to walk backwards away from her, and Eden smiled more genuinely this time. "I'll try."

"You'll love it, I guarantee it."

Eden raised an eyebrow, but her smile grew. "You guarantee it?"

"I guarantee it," he repeated, dragging out the words, and with that he raised a hand, waved, and turned around, merging with the crowd.

Thirty minutes later and Eden was sitting in a front-row balcony seat. To her left Maisie was itching with excitement, and to her right the two guys, Nick and Cal, were giggling like two little school boys about something.

"I can't believe that guy just got into your cab," Maisie was saying. "Imagine if he'd attacked you or something."

"Yeah thanks Mais, I'd rather not imagine that."

"Was he hot though?" Maisie went on, lowering her voice, not that anyone could hear her over the chatter of voices in the huge, circular room.

Eden rolled her eyes. Her best friend only ever had boys on the brain. "I wasn't really worrying about that if I'm honest."

Maisie sighed dramatically. "I despair of you, I really do."

Eden opened her mouth to answer, but it was at that moment the lights in the room dimmed. An excited hush swept across the room, everyone seemingly more eager to see the show than Eden. She had to admit, if a magic show was being held in such an iconic venue as this then it couldn't be that bad.

The stage descended into shadow. Everyone waited. The room was so quiet Eden was afraid to even shift her position in case the chair squeaked.

Yet no one had to wait long. One by one, four spotlights burst to life, illuminating four figures. As each of them appeared, a disembodied voice intoned their names. It wasn't until the voice spoke the final one that Eden suddenly started paying more attention.

"And Jack Wilder."

Jack?

Eden leant forward in her seat as everyone cheered, squinting at the figure like that would help her vision. Brown hair, not particularly tall, yet Jack from the cab had still been taller than her.

The four figures walked closer to the edge of the stage, and with each step Eden became more and more sure.

Jack who'd hijacked her cab was in fact Jack Wilder the magician.

Eden sat back in her seat, thankful that no one was looking at her to see her face reddening.

If things weren't weird enough, it was just a shame she didn't know they were about to get a lot weirder.