"When you get done with those, don't forget to go to the back to the Out of Circulation section." "If they're out of circulation, why do we have to recatalogue them?" "Nobody's read these books for 50 years." "That's not the answer I'd expect from a member of the library club, Joseph." "That's not what I'd expect from a member of the library club." "What you looking at, Dawkins?" " Not much." " Oh, you're very cool, Dawkins." "With Mrs. Stickley sitting over there." "Let's see how cool you are later." "You and those two losers you hang with." "I hate your guts, Brad Rollins." ""Minutes of the meeting of the Legerdemain Club." "October 16, 1966."" "I don't believe this." "Isn't your dad gonna miss his keys?" "He doesn't leave for work until 8." "They'll be back on his dresser drawer before he wakes up." "Joe, this is a morgue, with, like, dead people." "Yeah, I know." "Come on, guys." "Man." "Gross." "It's okay." "Man, I thought they'd already be disassembled for us." "There's no way I'm doing any sawing." "Me neither." "We shouldn't have to." "I know they keep parts around here somewhere." "Come on, guys." "Let's get out of here." "This is just the kind of stuff that got the Legerdemain Club banned." "Hey, guys is this what we're looking for?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Oh, sick." "Hurry, hurry, hurry." "Okay." "Thanks." "Easy." "Thanks." "Okay." "Okay." "The book says we have to say it all together." "Hand oh Glory, hand oh power" "Conjured in the witching hour" "Send thy warden here this night" "Let his hingers be my light" " I'm out of here." " No, no." "Wait, wait." "We gotta do this, you guys." "I'm tired of Brad Rollins and his goon buddies pushing us around and Mr. Klein trying to flunk us out of school." "Come on." "Now, say it together, okay?" "Hand oh Glory, hand oh power Conjured in the witching hour" "Send thy warden here this night Let his hingers be my light" "Okay." "Time to go." "No way." "Let's go." "Come on, Joe." "Let's get out of here." "You've reconsidered your options here, I hope." "If you mean, have I given it more thought yes, I have." "I still think it's time for me to leave this house and go back to my work in my parish." "I had a call this morning from your old friend Monsignor Grey." "Two events in the last 24 hours have caused him to be very concerned." "One of his faculty has gone missing." "He asked if you would be able to help him." "I'm sure it was The Legacy he asked for and not me specifically." "No, he asked for you." "I know you've just come to a very difficult decision, Philip but can you take this last task on?" "Hey, guys." "We need to talk." "Did you get any sleep last night?" "No, Artie, I didn't." "I slept with the lights on all night and a metal baseball bat in my hand." "How about you, Joe?" "Get any sleep?" " Slept like a baby." " What?" "You got ice water in your veins?" "What did you do with the hand?" "Did you put it back in the jar or did you deep six it?" "I took it." "The instructions in the book said to keep it." " You took it?" " It's in my locker." "I'm kidding." "It's a joke." "Can't you guys take a joke anymore?" "No." "Great." "I can't believe you got us into this, Joe." "I thought you were leaving." "What's the word?" "I told Derek I'd go to St. Helena, see what's happening at a school up there." "It's my last assignment." "He thinks maybe I should come along for some backup." "That's what Derek thinks." "What do you think, Nick?" "I think that if strapping on holy water is your idea of preparing for this gig yeah, you need some help." "Come on." "I'll drive." "What's the deal?" "Where's Mr. Klein?" "Like you really miss him." "He could blow himself up with his own nitrates, for all I care." "Shut up." "Hey, cool it." "Someone's coming." "Mr. Klein, I'm afraid, won't be able to make it today so I've been called in at very short notice to be his substitute." "Mr. Warden." "Warden as in "jailer."" "I'm sure that's how you feel about most of your teachers." "Previous classes have referred to me, with adoration, of course as the heavy hand of the law." "Well, right, we're here to discuss chemistry, yes?" "The study of reaction, interaction." "Sort of like life." "Let's pose a hypothesis." "You." "What's your name?" "Brad Rollins." "All right, Brad." "Would you mind stepping up to the board, please?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah." "You should try to be more careful." "Hello?" "Tell me that isn't the guy in the prayer." "Tell me it's a different word or it's spelled differently or something." "It was the same." "This has got to be the biggest coincidence in the history of the world." "It was him." "What happened to Brad was no accident." "Shut up, all right?" "It's a fluke." "I mean, what else could it be?" "Fate." "Every action causes a reaction." "The fundamental law of Newtonian physics." "Well, you called upon me and I responded to your kind invitation." "Well, I'm overwhelmed by your enthusiasm." "But now that I'm here and I do intend to stay perhaps you'd like to join a little after-school club that I'm resurrecting." "What sort of club?" "It's called the Legerdemain Club." "You've heard of it, I presume?" "Yeah." "Sort of." "Do you know what it means?" "Magic." "Sleight of hand." "And illusion." "Now, doesn't that sound interesting?" "Yeah, sounds really cool but I got band practice every day." "Yeah, and I have Chess Club." "Library Society." "Well, I'm sorry to hear we have these scheduling conflicts but may I remind you of one thing?" "Attendance in the Legerdemain Club is mandatory." "Our chemistry teacher, Mr. Klein." "This is his address." "I'd prefer you go there and see for yourselves and then tell me what conclusions you've drawn." "Have you had any other problems aside what happened with this one faculty member?" "Well, yes, last night something else did happen." "On the other side of town, at a teaching hospital run by our diocese." "The connection being?" "A pathology lab was broken into and vandalized." "Burn marks and candle wax were found on the floor." "Suggesting a ritual of some sort." "Yes." "It's possible." "That's why I asked for your help, Philip." "Maybe you should put your collar on." "What for?" "So we can ask the questions instead of answering them." "Right this way, Father." " Thanks." " Thanks." "I knew that collar was good for something." "You'll have to let me borrow it." "What, so you can dodge past police lines?" "Or have women throw themselves uncontrollably at your feet?" "That was cold." "Icy." "What are these mysterious circumstances anyway?" "The place looks like the maid just left." "Or maybe the guy just decided to take an unannounced vacation." "Philip?" "In the name of God..." "Now this isn't so bad, is it?" "Just a small, select group of like-minded people who see where life is sadly lacking in purpose and who take measures to remedy the situation." "Then why are we called the Legerdemain Club?" "That's not what they were all about." "How would you know what the club was all about?" "All you know is what you read in that boy Higgins' diary." "You knew him?" "Yes, sort of." "He didn't take instruction well." "You do, Joseph." "I'm the living proof of that." "So, what are we meeting for?" "To get to know each other better." "To..." "What is it you say these days?" "To bond." "Well, if that's all, then maybe I should go." " I know these guys well already..." " Quiet." "You want what you don't have, dream about what you'll never achieve you fester with hatred against those who would block your path to happiness." "I know what you truly want and I'm here to help you get it." "You want love." "The passionate and carnal embrace of a young woman." "You want good grades so you can go on to glorious careers." "And you want revenge on Brad Rollins, for instance." "The Legerdemain Club can deliver you to help you realize your most closely-held desires." "Why do you want to do all this for us?" " I mean, what do you get out of it?" " Me?" "We can worry about that later." "For now let's just say I enjoy helping young people." "We're planning a wonderful celebration for Friday night." "Many of our teachers and their classes wrote sketches and presentations." "Your school certainly seems to enjoy a close relationship with the community." "Oh, yes." "Many students have parents and grandparents in the area who attended St. A's, as they call it." "It's been the focus of this community since its founding." "I'm a graduate myself." "Class of '66." "School celebration." "Friday night." "Your Mr. Klein had been planning to participate, hadn't he?" "Do you think he'll show?" "I wouldn't pin my hopes on that." "But perhaps the Legerdemain Club can fill in for him." "What with?" "With sleight of hand, of course." "People love the fantasy that magic brings them." "Isn't that right, Joseph?" " Goddamn it." " What happened?" " I'm getting stung." " By what?" "The wasps." "Can't you see them?" " Jeez." "They're all over the place." " I don't see anything." "They're all over me!" "Get them off!" "Sometimes people get just what they deserve, Joseph." "Oh, God!" "Help, somebody!" "I think the simplest way to explain your presence here is to say that you are special guests of the diocese." "Mr. Warden." "Any problems so far?" "No problems at all, Monsignor." "I was just offering a small tutorial to some of the boys in the class." "Very considerate of you." "Nick Boyle, Philip Callaghan." "This is Samuel Warden." "He's substituting for our missing Mr. Klein." "Subbing must be a difficult job." "For some, but not for me." "I enjoy it thoroughly." "Please excuse me." "I must spend time preparing tomorrow's classwork." "A pleasure to meet you both." "Gentlemen." "If you'll excuse me." " I have to talk to someone." " Certainly." "What the hell just happened?" "You look like you left the planet." "I felt something, Nick." "It was incredible." "That man he's really ancient really powerful and totally evil." "Somebody." "Monsignor." "Help me, please." "Something's happening to Brad." "He's been stung everywhere." "Go to the office and dial 911." "Now!" "Hang in there." "The ambulance is on its way." "What the hell happened to him?" "I have no earthly idea." " Don't start wigging on me now." " Man, you scared me to death." "Oh, yeah?" "I thought you were the one that wasn't afraid of all this stuff." "Look." "I say we go to Monsignor's office tomorrow and tell him everything." "Yeah, and what would you tell him that he'd believe?" "That the new chemistry teacher is a demon that we summoned up?" "You know, my dad told me once that when he went to Saint A's the guy that started the club was a really weird teacher named Mr. Andrews." "Yeah." "I heard he hung himself in his attic." "101 Castanet Lane." " Come again?" " That's where Andrews lived." "This Higgins kid who stashed the diary in the stacks went there." " What for?" " Back in 1966 the Legerdemain Club met off-campus." "Hey." "Where are you going?" "I'm gonna see what's there." "If we don't find out what happened to Higgins and the others last time we could end up the same way." "One second I'm shaking his hand and the next it's like I'm holding something wet and sticky and it's encompassing my grasp." "Did Warden notice what you'd just experienced?" "I can't be sure." "But yeah I think he did." "Well, he's listed as a state-certified teacher." "The lieutenant in charge of Klein's disappearance assured me that they're following all leads." " How's the boy?" " Nick's at the hospital." "The boy's still in shock." "The doctors have not been able to identify the cause of those welts nor have they been able to find any wasp stingers or traces of toxins." "If this Warden is in league with the dark side there's no telling how far his powers extend or what he's planning to do with them." "Are we having fun yet?" "Not me." "Come on, guys, let's just get out of here." "No." "We stay." "Are you out of your mind?" "You're totally certifiable, Dawkins." "There's nobody home." "Let's go." " No." " This is totally whacked." " I gotta find out what's here." " Dawkins are you listening?" " What if somebody catches us?" " Just shut up, okay?" "Come on, guys." "This can't be possible." "No way." "Make yourselves at home." "May I offer you some lemonade?" "I must tell you the good news." "Not only has your Monsignor deigned to let us appear in the celebration he has also, perhaps in honor of the missing Mr. Klein given us the coveted last spot." "The Legerdemain Club's been banned from Saint A's for over 30 years." "A point well taken, so we will not be presented as such." "We will simply be the Sophomore Chemistry Club." "As you can see, your parts are quite easy to follow." "I really don't think I wanna do this." "I'm not asking you to think, Arthur." "And you will do this." "Did you know it was lemonade they used to poison Mr. Andrews?" "Oh, please." "In case you haven't noticed, I've been drinking from the same pitcher." "Mr. Andrews wasn't poisoned." "He hanged himself in the attic of his house." "You've been listening to your parents for too long." "Mr. Andrews, the revered founder of the original Legerdemain Club was accused of performing more than simple magic tricks." "He was accused of performing black... magic." "But he was." "Wasn't he?" "Performing black magic, I mean." "You say Andrews was poisoned." "Who did it?" "And if he didn't hang himself what happened to him?" "And why are you living in Andrews' old house?" "You're full of questions this evening, aren't you, Joseph?" "But as it's a school night and I still have some household chores to perform you really all have to go now." "Yeah." "I told you this was a bad idea." "Shut up." "Time for your midnight snack." "Please why are you doing this to me?" "Who are you?" "Terribly cold in here, isn't it?" "No, please." "I'll give you anything you want, if you let me go." "I'll do anything you want." "Please for God's sake, don't close the door." "God will give me the strength to help you heal your affliction." "We've gotta get to the bottom of this." "I hope you've got more in that bag of yours than just holy water." "It's gonna take all of that to stop this Warden." "I was hoping I'd see you this morning." "Have you made any sense of any of these problems?" " We're trying, Monsignor." " Tell me." "Is what happened to the Rollins boy in any way connected?" "Well, actually, I'm afraid it is." "Should we cancel the celebration?" "Close the school?" " I can't risk anyone else getting hurt." " No." "For the moment, we leave everything as it is." "I mean, we don't want to create a panic, do we?" "You're right." "I've got some files here on Klein and Warden." "Great, we should fax those to Alex from the car." "Maybe she can dig something up." "Klein was a chemistry teacher here for over 30 years." " Yeah, so?" " He was an assistant who replaced a Mr. Andrews." "Andrews had a pretty good record going here." "He even got an after-school group going called the Legerdemain Club." "Sleight of hand?" "Magic, huh?" "Yeah." "He died under cloudy circumstances." "The school board even asked for the coroner's report to avoid any later liability." "Asphyxiation, complicated by trace toxins." "Lovely, but what does it tell us?" "I'd say that being the chemistry teacher here at Saint A's should come with danger pay." "You see those three boys down there?" "They were the ones that were coming out of Warden's classroom." "You don't want to do what the script tells you to?" "What do you think's gonna happen to you then?" "This guy's a wacko." " I mean..." " Hey, cool it, guys." "Cool it." "Can I have a word with you guys?" "My name is Philip Callaghan." "I'm here..." "Well, you know." "I'm here to help out." "Help out how?" "Well, I was hoping you might be able to tell me." "Or maybe you think the Legerdemain Club can handle anything that comes down the pike." "Is that it?" "Wait, mister." "I don't know what you're talking about." "That new teacher, Mr. Warden?" "What's he got planned for you guys?" "Well he wants us to..." " To practice some card tricks." "He's showing us how to do a double shuffle." "Yeah." "We got work to do." "Come on, guys." "Hey, Dawkins, you coming?" "Listen I know you and your friends are in big trouble." "You're in even bigger danger." "You've unleashed something that you can't begin to comprehend." "You need help." "I'm the only one who can help you." "Period." "Hey, Dawkins, you wanna get us all killed?" "705 Oak Street, 7:00." "I've tapped into the state teacher files and you know what's strange?" "Warden's there now, references and all but he was totally missing the day before he showed up at the school." "Wanna know something else?" "Warden's listed address is the same as Andrews' was." "The chemistry teacher who died 30 years ago." "What's Warden's first name?" "Does it start, by any chance, with an S?" "As a matter of fact, yeah." "Samuel." "Why?" "It's an anagram." "Jumble the letters in "Andrews" and you get "S Warden"." "So, what are you suggesting?" "That Warden is Andrews come back from the dead?" "How?" "What I'm more concerned with is why." " Which way's Oak Street?" " Just straight ahead." "If Derek's right about this Warden or Andrews or whoever the hell he is he must have been summoned up." " What, by Legerdemain?" " Exactly, yeah." " Hey, hey, what did you turn for?" " I didn't." "Something's got ahold of the wheel." "Kill the ignition." "Fasten your seatbelt, Father?" "Oh, my God." "Hang in there, Nick." ""The Hand of Glory."" "So you guys know what it is." "Who are you guys, anyways?" "Where did you come by this?" "It's a diary that belonged to a kid who was in the Legerdemain Club 30 years ago." "You performed this ritual?" "What is this Hand of Glory?" "One of the most powerful occult rituals ever devised." "It was first performed during the Dark Ages." " Lf done right..." " We did it right, that's for sure." "Me and Pete and Artie." "It summons up a spirit called the Warden so-called because once you've summoned him you become his prisoner." "Welcome to my nightmare." "Sure it was wise to send Joe on ahead to the show?" "We had no other choice." "The other kids are already there." "If Joe didn't show up Warden..." "The Warden would know something was wrong." "We want him to think everything is going exactly as he planned." "Let's see if we can find Klein." "You really expect him to be here?" "Hey, it's worth a look, isn't it?" "The diary says Klein was the one who did Andrews in." "Maybe Klein will know the way to finish off Warden too." "Nice place." "Well Klein was here." "Great." "And we just left Joe and the other two boys with the magician from hell." "We gotta find the hand." "And last but not least a presentation by the Sophomore Chemistry Club headed by our new substitute teacher Mr. Samuel Warden." "Ladies and gentlemen." "I stand before you tonight to speak not only of science but of belief." "Do we believe what we see?" "Can we trust to our own senses?" "On the one hand we have logic and rationality, and on the other we have all the things we still cannot explain." "What if it's not in the kid's locker?" "It's got to be there." "The ancient Egyptians, for instance discovered the chemical secrets of embalming." "Secrets of preservation that we do not understand to this day." "But tonight in honor of this 75th anniversary celebration let us see, shall we if we can unravel this age-old mystery." "Mummy?" "Are you ready?" "Mummies are like that." "They love to keep secrets." "You sure this is gonna work?" "I have faith that it will, Nick." "Oh, my." "Perhaps we're going about this in the wrong way." "Shall we ask Mummy himself?" "Help me." "Why, it's our own beloved and sorely missed Mr. Klein." "Help me, someone." "He'll kill us all." "Correct, Mr. Klein." "Just as you, all of you, once killed me." "Klein spiked my drink." "The town fathers strung me up." "And why?" "Because some nasty little boy some brat named Higgins rattled on about Legerdemain." "About my magic." "Mr. Warden!" "Please!" "Bear with me." "Sit down." "Just do what he says." "Please bear with me." "This is what you might call a farewell performance." "Only this time you'll be the ones to bid the world farewell." "Recite after me, my young friends." "Hand oh Glory, hand oh power" "Hand oh Glory, hand oh power" " Don't do it." " I said recite!" " Hand oh Glory..." " End it now." "Hand oh Glory, hand oh power" " No, wait." " Conjured in the witching hour" "The Warden does his work this night" "Guided by the inhernal light" "Hand oh Glory, hand oh power" "Conjured in the witching hour" "The Warden's work is all unhurled" "The Warden must depart this world" "And with each douse I thee conhound" "And dig thee deeper in the ground" "And with the last I thee command" "Return to hell without thy hand" "Word from the hospital is the boy's fully recovered." "Without you, no telling what could have happened." "Yeah, well we do what we can." " Thank you." " God bless." " And you." "Derek, thank you." " You're welcome." " Nick." " Thank you." " God bless." "Your friend the Monsignor is right." "What you did, Philip wasn't only extraordinary, it made a difference." "Yes." "I know." "I hope you appreciate the fact that your presence in The Legacy is truly necessary." "I realize that too." "Maybe for the first time." "Good." "We can't afford to lose you." "For now, the battles I will fight must be those of a simple parish priest." "You must accept that, Derek." "All right, then." "Don't stay away too long." ""Return to hell without thy hand"?" "I made that up but I believed it." "Keep the holy water handy." "The collar it's an undercover thing, huh?" "You're like a fed, right?" "No, no." "Nothing like that." "I'm just a priest." "That's it?" "That's it." "Hey." "You're the coolest priest we've ever met." "Thank you kindly."