“So it does.”

“But Goblin is…that’s…that’s right here.”

Mr. Bench laughed again.

“And so it is.” He looked through the front glass, through the big blue, reversed letters painted there. goblin’s magic. Out to the bustling city beyond.

Pete, still staring at the paper, suddenly squealed.

“Roman Emperor is coming here?” he yelled, as if only Mr. Bench could make it official. “This isn’t…an old list? A mistake?”

“Hmmm…” Mr. Bench said, taking the paper back and pretending to study it. “Nope. No mistake here. This is a genuine listing.”

Pete turned red. Then he turned his head to the ceiling and howled.

“Holy cow! Mr. Bench! What do I do? What am I supposed to do? Roman Emperor is coming to Goblin! What am I supposed to do?”

Mr. Bench laughed. “Hey, hey, okay. Calm down.”

“Calm down?”

“On second thought, no. That’s the worst advice I can give you. Never calm down. But what should you do? Well…you should get yourself a ticket is what you should do.”

Pete took the list and read it again.

ROMAN EMPEROR—GOBLIN—DOMINO THEATER (Peak Show)—$8

He wrinkled his brow.

“What does that mean, Mr. Bench? Peak show?”

“The peak of night, Pete,” Mr. Bench winked. “Midnight.”

Pete’s joyous expression fell from his face. In its stead was concern.

Midnight.

Would his parents let him go? Could he even risk not going by asking them?

“What is it, Pete?”

“Nothing, Mr. Bench. Honestly. Just…wow.”

He’d figure it out on his own. He’d have to. Nothing was going to stop him from seeing this show. One of the Presto magicians, the most feared magician on the Spell Circuit, was coming to…Goblin?

Pete felt like his legs were on fire. He couldn’t stand still. Roman Emperor was coming to Pete’s Goblin. Man! This wasn’t “cool.” This was huge. Oh…he was going to go. There was no worrying about that.

“You probably don’t have to worry about it selling out,” Mr. Bench said. “Our industry is…obscure, as you know. But I’d get a ticket as soon as possible if I were you. Just to be sure.”

Suddenly Pete felt like he didn’t know enough about Emperor. As if he’d failed to study all the material required for this unbelievable pop exam. When Pete first started reading Presto, he’d gravitated to the more forthcoming magicians. The guys who put their tricks on display or published them in magazines so readers could try to figure them out. Emperor, secretive as he was, had always been a vague impression to Pete. A dark, mythic figure who graced the pages of the magic mags with the sort of mystery ghost stories were made of. Unlike a lot of the readers who sent letters to the editors, Pete was fascinated with his reluctance to expose his moves. But for this, and because the other magicians had more or less ostracized Emperor years ago, material was slim. There just wasn’t that much written about him. Most readers wanted a trick, a code to crack.