Ignotius rolled his eyes at the small explosion rocking the hallway. Smoke poured from underneath the door his knuckles were poised to knock on, and he sighed, sucking in a deep breath. He turned the handle without knocking, and the thick smoke wound around the door frame the moment he pushed. It filled the hall, choking a young passerby, but he paid no mind. He waved a hand in front of his face to clear some of the fumes, and he was startled by the huge, bespectacled blue eyes staring back at him. The old vampire was tired of the shenanigans, or at least he told himself that, but in his heart he knew he felt a certain fondness for the man across from him, even with his hair standing on end as it currently was. He sighed again, raising an eyebrow. “Master Isaac, will you be requiring human medical attention, or would you like me to call a healer?”
“Neither,” the man coughed, waving his hand in front of his face as well. He moved from behind the rather large beaker between them, and his face and eyes returned to normal size. “Just a small hiccup in the application of the giant blood.”
Ignotius moved to the window and flung it open, letting most of the smoke out into the campus.“Master Isaac, I believe you were taught first, never to do alchemy, or as the humans call it, chemistry, in view or earshot of said humans. Secondly, you are attempting to create a love potion; I would rather not know what you hope to accomplish with the introduction of giant's blood.”
Isaac smiled, trying in vain to smooth his light brown hair by running his fingers through it. “Hermes is a rather... small, fellow, isn't he?”
Ignotius remembered well the stories of old, how Aphrodite had pointed and laughed at the god's misfortune, but he had a hard time believing that Hermes was only now attempting to rectify his little problem. “Master Isaac, this is the third college Master Amaedus has had to pull strings to gain you admittance to. If you do not wish to attend one of our schools, then you will have to abide by the laws of the human world you cleave so dearly to. Speaking of which, I have no time for your games or sarcasm. Please, collect your things.”
Isaac laughed, fixing his crooked glasses, shoving them farther up his nose with a single finger. “Where are we going?”
“To Italy.”
He opened his closet and clothes spilled out and onto the floor, and Ignotius crinkled his nose. Even without his vampire senses, Ignotius knew that the fumes from those garments were worse than the failed giant's blood concoction. “Master Isaac, I know for a fact that Master Amaedus has appointed for you a maid, yet those clothes are soiled and rather pungent. Should I search for a replacement?”
“No no,” he said, disappearing into the closet. “I don't like having other people do things for me, especially washing my underwear.”
Ignotius nodded even though he knew it would not be seen by the young man, and moved closer to the window, hoping that he could catch a breath of unsoiled air.
Isaac reappeared a moment later with a black duffel, a long jacket, and a few vials filled with different color liquids. “I guess Amaedus found 'em?”
“He did. We are going back to the estate to collect a few things, then to Naples.”
This gained a raised eyebrow from him. “There are millions of people in Naples. Have there been any deaths?”
Ignotius was getting tired of the questions. “Of course there have been. Seventeen that we know of. Ripped to shreds, with the heart missing.”
“Right,” he said, walking towards the door before snapping his fingers and turning back to the closet. “Won't get very far without this.”
He reached into the mess of clothes, papers, and books, and pulled an amulet free, hanging it around his neck. Ignotius peered at the object, noticing the visage of Athena engraved into what looked like gold. “And that is?”
