The Innocence of Teacups

Pretending he wasn’t Eagle when working was proving challenging seen as the people he needed to speak to all knew him by sight. If he went round them all then there was sure to be gossip about Freyr’s apprentice having a look alike then the gossip would no doubt reach Freyr’s ears then the truth would unravel. He’d been sending Sasha to talk over deals with a glass blower and carpenter. He ought to be going really to make sure the best deals were got seen as Sasha was unaccustomed to these peoples’ bargaining patterns.

These thoughts swirled as he admired his daisy with fresh black petals. The stem remained green. Alaric gave him a thumb up in approval and tossed him another daisy to see if he could work dark magic successfully for a second time.

While he concentrated on his own shadow, Alaric got up and went for a walk along the roof they were atop of, with his arms spanned out, pretending to be a tightrope walker. His daisy petals went red.

“Is it possible to change one’s appearance?”

“Indeed,” Alaric said as he strolled back over to him. “It’s complex. You could end up disfiguring yourself. My Uncle Ludwig lost his nose. Nasty business.”

“He lost his nose,” he exclaimed.

“Correction friend, I lost Uncle Ludwig’s nose. When I was learning magic myself I tried to change my uncle’s nose, it went missing. He never looked at me the

same way again.” Alaric laughed, then on seeing his horrified expression licked his top lip as though ridding himself of humour. “But nothing to worry about I was a mere four hundred years in the world, now I am an expert dark sorcerer with three thousand six hundred years experience so you are in safe hands. Try a different colour.” Alaric gave him a third daisy.

“But your uncle’s nose went missing. I don’t understand.”

“Let me rephrase: The change is supposed to be an illusion. Actually changing yourself I would never advise.”

“What you mean is there are two types of change I could potentially use?”

“Yes the illusion version and permanent change. If a living organism goes against its natural growth then bad things are bound to happen. Like noses getting lost and eyes rupturing, legs growing out the top of your head and arms coming out your mouth. Better to create a temporary illusion if you ask me. Inanimate objects are much easier to permanently change because they’re not growing. Like these daisies, they stopped growing when picked so won’t want to have their usual white petals. Try making a daisy purple which is still in the ground then it would be white again seconds after you lost your link with a shadow, minutes if you’re quite skilled. How about you try changing something other than colour?” Alaric gave him another daisy. “Before you try I ought to tell you never attempt to change the properties of something. Wood is wood, glass is glass, and dead flowers are dead flowers.”

“Is size okay?”

“Size is a perfect next step to take.”

Using his own shadow he invited it to him. Shadow flowed into his fingers which was a weird feeling he was starting to enjoy. He held this feeling for a moment relishing in the heaviness then whoosh directed it towards the daisy willing the daisy to grow. Grow it did. The stem shot up then petals and leaves spanned outwards until it was like holding a parasol. Problem being the growth didn’t stop there even when he willed the daisy to stop growing.

Alaric was on his feet jumping up and down on the roof laughing. “How much energy did you take?”

“Too much I’m guessing.” The daisy stem was too fat to keep hold of. He lost his grip. The gigantic daisy almost fell on top of him but Alaric managed to pull him away. “Why’s the daisy still growing?” he breathed.

“Even though you’re not touching the daisy, magic still flows through you to it. When you get more skilled at magic you will only need to look at something in order to manipulate it.”

“What is going on up there?” Sasha called up to them as he leaned out of their room window only he never got a chance to see them because a white petal drooped over the window like a huge curtain.

Alaric continued to laugh as Sasha cut his way through the petal then climbed up the stem onto the roof. When Sasha was safely on the roof, Alaric’s eyes glistened over the daisy and soon it was shrinking, making Sasha gasp and grasp hold of his arm.

“Who’s that dodgy fellow?”

Having been called dodgy, hissing Alaric span on Sasha, showing his prominent canines. Sasha’s heart must have leapt in fright because he jumped and almost fell off the roof.

“That’s Alaric,” he said quickly hoping these two wouldn’t decide on being deadly enemies because he doubted he’d be able to pull them apart if they tried to kill each other. “He brought us back from Nocta Umbra remember.”

Sasha clutched his sword. “He’s a vampyre isn’t he?”

“Yes, and a good person, the best.”

With a slight reluctance Sasha lowered his sword and took a step back wincing slightly when he looked to Alaric’s pale skin and deep purple eyes. Alaric kept hissing; he could understand why, the world condemned him as a mass murderer.

“There’s nothing to worry about.” He held his hand out to Alaric. “Sasha’s ever so friendly and wouldn’t dream of staking you.” He tugged at Alaric’s hand. “Would you?”

Sasha shook his head so he placed Alaric’s hand into his. Phew they were shaking hands very slowly with great caution but at least they refrained from tearing each other open or casting insults.

“Thank you for helping me out of Nocta Umbra. I’m very appreciative,” said Sasha sounding as though his mouth was dried out. “I wanted to meet you sooner but Eagle told me you were nocturnal.”

Alaric grinned which resulted in their handshake coming to an abrupt end.

“You have a very nice smile,” said Sasha but was shooting a look at him which spelt double anxious.

Alaric sat with them and placed a regular size daisy into his palm. “Magic is a lot to do with control. You’ll learn limits with practise. In time they’ll come as naturally as breathing.”

“Did he say magic?” asked Sasha.

“He did. He’s giving me a magic lesson,” he mustered.

“Dark magic lesson,” corrected Alaric.

“Misguided indeed,” Sasha said to him then managed to look at Alaric without wincing. “You do know Eagle is an impressionable young man, don’t you? You’re being irresponsible showing him dark magic, besides it’s illegal.”

“Illegal is just a word to scare people,” countered Alaric. “And I know exactly what I am doing. I’m a fantastic teacher with extensive knowledge.”

“Is that why a monster of a daisy was hanging off the roof?”

“In a nutshell yes. When teaching magic there are bound to be some mishaps which I will be able to clean up.”

“So you’re dark magic,” said Sasha. “Your kind looks like your painting.”

“I am not magic. As far as histories go I have reason to believe vampyres discovered dark magic but we never were it.” Alaric tapped the tune he’d been humming in Vulfgang Heights’ ballroom onto his knee. “There’s goodness in darkness if you know where to look, like there is badness in lightness if you search deep enough.”

“How can light be a bad thing?” asked Sasha.

“Does staring into the dark hurt?”

“No, I can’t say it does.”

“Yet if you stare at a bright light you’ll probably get a headache. Fires burn flesh, they also keep people warm on a chill winter evening. Dark places hide criminals, they also shelter the innocent.”

“Well you can’t very well summon a phantom with light magic.”

“Wouldn’t you want someone to summon Lanzo then? He’d bbored for an eternity without having sorcerers to strike deals with.”

“Do you think Lanzo is an evil phantom?”

“Far from it. Lanzo is a protective phantom.”

“What other types are there?” he asked.

“There are many types of phantom just as there are countless types of human. The difference being phantoms are an exaggeration of a single aspect of their personality before they changed. Sasha has himself a protector however Lanzo won’t be much use for anything save taunts unless summoned.” Alaric’s gaze flittered away from the sky onto Sasha. “I sense a sadness inside you.”

“Phantoms are immortal right?”

“Yes, unless they use their powers without being summoned.”

“Lanzo chose to live forever to protect me but I won’t be around that long. What will he do when I’m gone?”

“His best chance to remain sane would be to choose someone else to protect I expect. I find I constantly have to make new friends when time claims mine. Life was much easier when fellow vampyres were around to befriend. Eagle is my first friend outside the family in a thousand years. At least Lanzo has other phantoms to mingle with. Their get-togethers are rather hilarious.”

“What are they like?”

“You get the helpful phantoms constantly straightening out tables and chairs, while the vengeful ones walk round all broody. Sinister phantoms like to snicker which has peaceful phantoms shaking all over the place. Then there’s more obtrusive ones like Lanzo; I’ve seen he likes to make himself known.”

Sasha smiled. “Yeah he takes pride in knocking things off shelves.”

“The helpful phantoms will love him.”

“What do protective phantoms usually do at these get-togethers?”

“I have no idea. Lanzo’s the first protector I’ve ever seen. He must have thought a lot of you to turn.”