The Riddle Of Magic

Prologue: A Glass of Dark

When his shadow deigned to speak, it was always with Alastor's own voice.

It was a rather pleasant sound, if he said so himself. A memory of a time without the constant hum of static.

The mocking tone, however, was rather unpleasant.

The Radio Demon had been busy the last few days, and was anticipating his schedule for the coming months to be just as hectic, so he had tried to take a little time yet to relax.

Reclining on his couch with a good book and a cup of wine should have been an ideal time to pass a couple of hours. Alastor had really hoped to have a little quiet time to himself before his company arrived.

But he wasn't able to focus at all, his maroon eyes darting back up the page as he tried in vain to finish the paragraph he'd been attempting to read for the last few minutes, while his shadow continued chattering away.

"If you insist on bothering someone, you could just go pick on Angel. He craves attention as it is!" Alastor suggested to his spectral companion.

"I'm bothering you?" the shadow asked sardonically. "Oh, dear me, I do apologize! I was just thinking aloud - I admit I'm still rather curious about your plan!"

"Which one? You'll need to be more specific."

"Your little scheme with Charlie! It would behoove us both to be on the same page for your wooing-"

Alastor snapped his book closed and tossed it over his shoulder, where it clattered somewhere near the wall.

The shadow's blue grin was perfectly smug.

"My apologies, I was being terribly rude - trying to read while you were discussing something with me!" Alastor leaned against the arm of his couch, chin on his hand. "Do go on! My plan is for... what, exactly?"

"Well, clearly you're trying to get closer to the princess."

"Hah! We're quite close enough, I should think! We work together and live under the same roof, after all!"

"If friendship was all you were after, there's no need for you to act the way you do around her! And most of your thoughts seem to be of her as of late, dear fellow," the shade commented. "I can't recall you ever indulging on someone for so long. Demons have died for you, and you've scarcely graced them a memory!"

Alastor's eyebrow rose. Oh, not this drivel again. "It's as I've been saying since the beginning - this place is an investment in entertainment for myself! Surely you, of all beings, can appreciate that."

"You have a job! With a salary!"

"Of course I do my work here, this place is my territory," Alastor shrugged.

The shadow chuckled. "Ah, territory. Not something commonly shared outside of partners."

"Business partners!" Alastor replied defensively, holding up one long claw. "I have shared one thing, ever. You know that."

"Two." The shade let its power flare, and other umbral shapes joined them. "Or did you forget about your deal with her?"

The shadow pack stared at him with abyssal eyes, waiting for his reply.

The Radio Demon was a showman at heart and used to an audience, so the gesture didn't phase him. He stood, stretching dismissively. "If you're referring to the incident with the desk, it hardly counts!"

"You gave her control over your magic. She could summon or bind any of us if she wished!" The blue-faced shadow gestured to the crowd with an elongated limb, and the spectral assembly hissed in reply.