i'd rewrite the opening this way...

Victor knew he was a damn good magician but with each show the ratio of empty seats to patrons was growing and not in his favor. Growing too was the frustration of his assistant as she stormed off after he chastized her over a simple misplacement of a cane intrigal to his performance. Damn the girl anyway. He needed new magic and tossed back a few shots of bad whiskey at the bar in an off the grid bar in Manchester of his latest disaster.