The Lightning Thief

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The ladies did not only like Ignatius' jewellery; they also liked him. His dark, mysterious look was causing much rumour. Ignatius was tall, slim and strong (because of his affection to smiths), he had hair, as black as a raven's feathers, and dark blue eyes. As he liked to look rather unusual, Ignatius had invented a Lightning tincture. He dyed bright strands in his dark hair with it. His wardrobe contained only dark colours. In the shop Ignatius always wore black clothes.

Flirting with the ladies was most easy if you used Ignatius' small, charming smile. They blushed and giggled when he smiled this way. Ignatius had no friends.

After some time, Ignatius got tired of charming the ladies all alone. He bought a cat, a grey-and-black striped cat, and called her Ygraine. She sat with him when he fell asleep over newly made jewellery, too tired to go to bed after a whole night's work. When he woke up, Ygraine lay warm and purring beside him. She was the only woman Ignatius allowed to stay in his flat; all the ladies were politely led out after one night of fun and were never able to win Ignatius' interest again.

But one day, this changed.

Ignatius was torn. On one side, he wanted to be a jewellery maker and enjoyed his job, and on the other side, he wanted to continue with his experiments. There was work to do, he could not always look for a way to make Shadows yourself, to tame Lightnings or to find something new made of Shadows and Lightning gems.

He also had to steal Lightnings, forge them and make new gems, colour them and turn them into fine jewellery, sell them in his shop and do all the work in his household. Ignatius was tired. There were nights when he did not sleep at all, but worked on new designs to keep up with his rivals in the business. Lightning gems could not always save him his customers.

So, after a long time of thinking, Ignatius decided he had to get an apprentice. It had to be someone who was willing to help him in the shop, and took pleasure in designing new jewellery. Someone who would not ask too many questions about his experiments, the jewels and his feelings. So he made an announcement in the local newspaper.

The result was overwhelming. Almost every young woman in town suddenly seemed to be interested in jewellery-making somehow. They came, they were tested, they failed, they were gone again. Every single one just wanted to get a closer look at the mysterious Ignatius Illuminon. They were completely useless when it came down to making something with their hands. And the very few men who came had big hands and were far too clumsy to make such things as small pendants.

Ignatius had already given up and confessed to Ygraine that apparently he would have to stick to doing everything alone. Then she came.

Catie.

Her real name was Catherine, of course, Catherine Realowe. But her friends- of which she seemed to have plenty, but never spoke of- called her Catie, as she happily announced once she had passed Ignatius' test to his surprise.

Catie was extremely skilled. She might even have been as talented as Ignatius, though he would have never admit that. Her ideas for new designs were wonderful, she was eager to learn and loved to work in the shop. So she stayed.

Ignatius liked her instantly, but refused to call her Catie. Indicating that she was his apprentice and nothing more, and, most of all, to keep her out of his private life, he always called her Miss Catherine.

Soon Ignatius let Catie work in the shop alone. She knew loads about jewellery and metals- although she had never learned the art of forging herself; Ignatius had to teach her this- and was very friendly with customers. Soon there were a lot of young men who bought jewellery just to be with her. Ignatius did not like that. But Catie was never distracted. Friendly she handed the young men their gems, and when they asked her for a date, she refused politely.

Catie was not in the shop because of Ignatius, but because of the work, and that was what counted for him.

At least that was what he told Ygraine in the evenings.

"Catherine is a very talented woman. I just like to show her my work, that's all. Don't look at me like that!" At this point, Ygraine used to twitch her tail and stare at Ignatius with her big yellow eyes. If she had been human, she surely would have laughed quietly.

"It's not a romantic relationship", Ignatius said grimly. "I just like teaching her." And it was clear that he wished it was otherwise.

Now Catie was there and could take over the shop, Ignatius finally had time for his experiments again.

Over the last few months, a very strange idea had formed in his mind. Ignatius wanted to make his own Shadows.

He was not after the power. Nor was he after the wealth such a skill would bring him. He only wanted to be remembered beyond his time, as the only alchemist who had ever managed to forge and control his own Shadows. He also did not want to pass his knowledge on to any other person, not even to Catie. Ignatius Illuminon wanted to die as the only Shadow-making person in the world who was no Shadowsmith.

So Ignatius spent the evenings with Ygraine in his laboratory, working on the new project. The ingredients he used shall not be mentioned here.

He worked for weeks, every day, every night, and only slept or ate if he had to. He was obsessed.

Catie was worried. Of course she did not know anything about his project. But she saw that Ignatius was always tired and did not really listen to her words.

"Mr Illuminon", she asked friendly, "you seem distracted. Is everything alright?"

Ignatius looked at her, confused. "Yes. I was just thinking about my project, I am close to the breakthrough, but one ingredient is still missing... Please excuse me if I don't pay enough attention, Miss Catherine."

She smiled a very pretty smile. But her bright brown eyes remained thoughtful.

"Oh, it's alright, Mr Illuminon. You just look as if you did not have enough sleep over the past days."

Ignatius shook his head slowly. "I certainly did not have enough sleep, Miss Catherine. Thanks for asking."

Now it was her turn to be confused, but she smiled nevertheless and continued to show him her new designs for jewellery.

"This necklace is my favourite", she told him. "It is a simple silver chain, with a single pendant in the shape of a wing. On the tips of the feathers there are red jewels. The colour has to be like blood, I think-" "Blood!", cried Ignatius.

He grapped her shoulders and shook her gently. "You are a genius, a real genius- blood!"

Of course his Shadows needed his blood- to understand and obey him, they had to be a part of him.

Ignatius left Catie standing where she was and ran to his laboratory. He grabbed a knife from the desk and held his trembling hand over the bowl. In the bowl there whirled a half-liquid, half-gas substance. Carefully Ignatius cut his hand on the inside and watched the dark red blood drip into the bowl.

Instantly, a blinding white light exploded from the bowl so Ignatius had to shield his eyes. Then, a shockwave threw him back. His head hit the wall behind with a hard sound, and the last thing he remembered before he passed out was the feeling of triumph- he had done it. Ignatius Illuminon had made his own Shadows.