The Black Dragon (28 page)

At first he had felt confusion. How could Dad fail? In front of all those people? Wasn't he the greatest living exponent of the art? If he could fail—then anyone could. So there were no guarantees in the world . . .

And they talked about that—and the fact that you have to let your mistakes teach you so that they're not wasted.
You only learn to walk the wire by falling
. And that led to other things and they went on long into the night, discussing routines and tricks. Great escapes and their risks and difficulties and how even people like Houdini or great walkers like Wallenda eventually slipped up and succumbed to the inevitable. Eventually Danny said, “Why do you do it, Dad?”

“What, old son?”

“The danger. Injuries. Dislocating things. The hard work.”

“I would hope that's obvious,” Dad said. “But I'll spell it out for you. You've heard of Einstein, right?”

“Yep.”

“A genius in anyone's book. Well, he said something like this: ‘The most beautiful thing we can experience is the
mysterious
. The person who can no longer stand rapt in wonder and awe is as good as dead. Their eyes are closed.'”

He sighed. “
That's
why I do it, that's why
we
do it. We help to keep the mystery.”

And then he smiled broadly.

“Got to keep the mystery, Danny. Because that keeps us alive.”

Danny looks up from the memory. The sun is cracking through the clouds and Hong Kong shimmers into life before them in all its towering glory.

It's like the most amazing conjuring trick. The world reborn.

He watches it unfold, his eyes alive with the wonder.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The story of Danny and his friends (and enemies) in the Mysterium would not have come to light without the help and support of many people.

In particular, at Hodder Children's Books, I'd like to thank Beverley Birch for her foresight and Jon Appleton for his insight.

I'm also very grateful to my agent, Kirsty McLachlan, for helping to plant the seed of this idea and for nurturing it, and to my brother, Marcus, for his constant encouragement.

It's not always easy living around aspiring and perspiring writers, and for that reason I give heartfelt thanks to my wife, Isabel, and my two boys—Joseph and William—for their fortitude, forbearance, and love. And for some of the better ideas in these pages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julian Sedgwick is an author of children's books who lives in England with his wife and two sons. Julian's lifelong interest in the arts and culture of China and Japan has influenced much of his work, as has his fascination with performance, street art, and the circus.