Alchemist's Desire

Chapter One

There were times when you were stuck between a rock and a hard place, when you were convinced that the universe was out to ruin your life. There were choices to be made but each of them had consequences that were unknown at the time but probably spectacular.

I was in such a situation right now. I was lying in bed pleasantly asleep dreaming of a sky that rained doughnuts down onto me when an annoying ringing sound began to appear and bring me back to the land of the living and awake.

There was the option where I could go back to sleep and hope that the dream would not have changed or the other where I could answer the phone and face the fact that I was more than likely going to be involved in something that would require a lot of work and effort. That was how my life worked and I doubted it would change without making me even more miserable.

The universe truly hated me. It gave me enough luck to survive encounters with dangerous people and monsters but it did not give me the chance to do nothing and just sleep. I had the whole day planned out too. It was to begin when I woke up a few hours later from now, I would have a plate of pancakes, sausages, and bacon. Read a couple of my books and watch television.

The chances of that happening now where less than likely as I looked at the number calling me. I groaned as I fell back in my bed wondering what Marcus wanted with me at twelve in the afternoon. I really hoped it was not work as this was my day off and since I was the boss and owned the office my opinion should matter more on when we or more likely I was working.

With a sigh that held all my annoyance at the situation I answered the phone.

"What do you want?" I questioned hoping that while it would be something stupid it would also be something that could be resolved quickly hopefully without requiring me to leave my house and more specifically my bed.

"I just met our next client." He said and I could feel my sense of despair increase. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop him from doing this but I truly hoped his need for adventure wasn't going to ruin a vacation that I believed I truly deserved.

"Can you do it without me?" I complained and if I wasn't both so proud and stubborn I would have been begging. I knew no matter what I said he would continue. He was the type of person that hated to be bored and would constantly seek out trouble if left alone. It was one of the reasons he agreed to become a detective and work for me. As long as it was interesting he would stay but the minute he was bored he would be gone.

A part of me wished that he would get bored and move on to whatever he wanted to do next so I could go back to sleep. I did not give that immortal pain in the neck the ability to survive and move around during the daylight if I knew he was going to torment me and ruin my days off.

This was a great reminder of why I only made and sold defensive magical weapons to other people. There was always a chance of your creation coming back to make you regret ever making it. I should have remembered that lesson from Marry Shelley and her book on Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.

"Can't you do it yourself?" I asked trying to save the hopes that I might be able to save at least some of my plans.

"No the clients only wants help from the "psychic" detective himself." Marcus said and I groaned normally I was fine scamming people into thinking I was psychic so I could charge more but I really was in no mood today.

"Tell him the psychic is in contact with the spirit world and can't be reached." I said and turned around to go back under my covers and sleep. I laid my head on the pillow and was close to drifting unfortunately that wouldn't happen.

"The client's rich and really needs your help. He's meeting us in two hours" Marcus said and I froze before rolling out of bed and began to get dressed. Rich and needs help were two words that never failed to get me to act and for two separate reasons.

The fact that the client had money meant that I could charge them for a lot compared to the poorer people that came to me as I just didn't feel good charging them more than they could afford to pay but rich people had a lot of money and in my opinion they spent it on very stupid things. That money was wasted on them.

It would do me a lot better to have it than them. True I made money from my side job but as it was forbidden to reveal magic to regular people I could not list it for the government. It is true I did use it to buy things I needed like food and books but more money was always helpful.

People needing help was another habit with me. I did it both out of a desire to help people and the fear that my conscience wouldn't allow me to forget if I ignored them. Despite the six years that were spent learning magic under a wizard that cared little for normal people and was fine with reckless magical experiments the morals my parents had left me with hadn't managed to fully vanish.

Sometimes I truly hated that fact. If I had magical powers and the ability to not feel guilt or remorse I knew my life would be very different that it is now.

"I'll be there in an hour." There was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep now so I began to get ready for work. Rolling out of bed and getting ready took about an hour itself. Forty five minutes for a shower and all the other bathroom necessities. It took fifteen minutes to get dressed. Grabbing my wand off of the table near my bed I stretched out my arms and neck getting all the kinks out and got ready to cast.

"Speculum." and a mirror was created. I truly loved magic. It was a part of me and had been since the accident which had taken away my parents. It had been the only reason I had survived all the adventures I had after I was adopted. Despite all the trouble that got involved in my life I just couldn't blame it.

Others however I had no trouble was the current source of my anger. My business card's enchantment had changed to list his number first. That meant that when the card's effect activated they would call him first and he would deal with the problem. I would get the finder's fee for setting the meeting up. I was also not to be called on when it was his day off. It was in the contract that I had given him.

The remaining fifteen minutes was to get dressed. Wearing a a black short sleeve T-shirt and blue jeans dark with blue sneakers. The sneakers were enchanted to make him jump higher and run faster. I called the enchantment Magic Sneakers: swift wind. Enchanting was the skill I was best at. Adding magic to items to create a permanent effect that didn't originally exist to the item.

My trench coat was put on next and I watched as it changed colors. it was the Magic Coat: Chameleon Cloak. My friends told me the names sounded terrible but I enjoyed them. So I ignored any and all comments and criticisms about it. My wand was put in one of the pockets and I watched as it disappeared in to the pocket dimension I had my cloak enchanted with.

Watching the coat turn to the tan brown that I usually had it in when I worked as I considered it to be the most professional color I walked down the stairs and out of the house locking the door behind me. My office was in Frankford and that was about Fifteen to thirty minutes away depending on traffic. That still left me a lot of time to get some food. I wasn't the type to work a case on an empty stomach no matter how much money was involved.

Driving across from Roosevelt boulevard I couldn't help but wonder what I was getting into. I hoped it did not take too long. It was a hot day and even though my cloak would keep me cool due to the enchantment that made it the opposite temperature of whatever the weather was outside it was still a hot day for September. The transition from summer to fall was still happening. The leaves had yet to even begin to change colors.

The only consolation there was for this job potentially ruining my day off was that it wasn't during winter. Philadelphia winters were something that he hated as he got older. It was fun when he was younger and snow days meant that school was canceled but now that I had to work they became a punishment that I would love to avoid if I could.

Parking down the street from the office I got out of the car with my breakfast consisting of cheese fries and a cheese steak in a plastic bag I walked to my office and opened the white door that held in black bold words Blackwell Investigations. I was about seventeen minutes early before the others were supposed to arrive.

I turned the lights on and sat at my desk just trying to get calm enough that I didn't drive away the client. I was going to charge him enough that for the entire winter I could sleep and not have to do any work. Just the thought of sleeping in for those three months brought me joy.

I was so deep into eating my cheese fries that It took me a while to hear the knocking on the door.

"Come in." wiping my face of my breakfast I faced the two people walking in. Walking in wearing both a grey hoodie and a black leather Jacket was my friend/employee/ eternal punishment Marcus. His shades hid his brown eyes and the hood covered his black hair.

Walking behind him was the man who was going to be our client. He was skinny, awkward looking, and tall. He was the dictionary definition of the word gangly. With one look at him I could tell that if he went to public school he would be the type to be picked on. He was wearing tan pants and a blue shirt underneath a tan jacket. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was also shorter than me which was a point in his favor. I didn't tend to like people taller than me. Marcus was both the reasonn and the example

"Are you the Psychic detective Alex Blackwell?" he asked me. I nodded to him when in truth the answer to the question was more like yes and no. I was a private detective but I was not a psychic. I had run into some true psychics in my life and I could do some of the things people believed psychics could but I wasn't one of them. However given that it was forbidden to reveal magic to regular people I had to give a reason for why I could do what I did.

Most people didn't believe thinking it to be a gimmick and I let them. As long as people believed I was just very observant and clever they would never jump to the idea of magic existing and that meant the Council of Magic would never come after me.

"Who are you and what do you need?" That was my question. I wondered what could be so important that it had to ruin my day off.

"My Name is Zachary Taylor and I need your help." he said and I will admit to being partially curious to what type of help he needed.