Idris chuckled, undoubtedly enjoying his private joke about Professor Marin.
They filed into the laboratory one by one. It was difficult to avoid touching anything because there were so many things in the room: wooden shelves of corked vials filled with dark powders and shimmering liquids; tiny boxes labeled with one or two letters, some with red caution labels; sheets of metal, neatly pressed from a manufactory; various lengths of wire in several colors; and a number of stands filled with strange brass instruments, meters in several different scales, and a large number of switches.
Sitting on a stool near one of the stands was a young, blonde elf with round spectacles and a nervous disposition. When Professor Marin approached him, he stood abruptly.
“See to the samples,” said Professor Marin.
The elf took the box from Weyland, smiling nervously at the much larger human. “Thank you. Professor Marin has high hopes for the mithril in particular—”
“Not yet, Leo,” said Professor Marin. “First, let’s show them their machine.”
They followed Professor Marin and Leo through another set of doors onto a covered patio of sorts. It was somewhat like Weyland’s forge, open on the sides with a covered roof, although there were a number of large shades against the walls and a number of platforms extending out into the darkened field beyond.
Professor Marin flipped a switch, and one of the platforms was retracted back under the roof. On it was their prototype solar machine. Its large metal cone had been modified to be somewhat less round, and there was a different box attached to it than the one that had held the ‘lectric generator they had purchased, but it otherwise looked about the same.
“Let me show you what I’ve done,” said Professor Marin.
She flipped another switch from something connected to the back of the prototype, and the bright light of an exposed lightbulb came on.
Professor Marin finally turned around.
Something about her appearance immediately unsettled Alison, but it took her a moment to figure out why. At first glance, she had seemed like an orc. There was a greyish cast to her skin, and she had fangs visible when she smiled, but only on the upper teeth. But her features were unmistakably human, except for one thing: her eyes were blood red.
“Vampire,” said Lady Sibba. Her voice was laced with fear.
Surely not. Alison had come to accept that many of the things she had been taught were make believe were very much real, even more so after hearing about mermaids from Rinka, butvampires? Surely those were the invention of gothic novelists from the previous century.
(Had any writer ever actually created any of their fiction, or was it all in some way tied back to a reality that some people were happier to have forgotten?)
“You didn’t mention an elf was one of your number,” said Professor Marin, not denying anything. “They harbor unfounded prejudices against my kind.”
“Your kind?” said Lady Sibba, reaching backwards for the door without turning around. “Your kind is an affront to nature. A twisting of the order of things—”
“An order in which only elves are granted near limitless life? What kind of order is that? Elves speak of order, but have you ever noticed that all orders they’re involved with feature them at the very top?”
Alison regretted that Gwenla wasn’t here for this conversation; she had similar feelings about certain elf societies. But she also wasn’t one to tar all elves with the same brush.
“Is Leo not an elf?” asked Alison, gesturing to the young man who was staring very intently at his shoes. “Professor Marin, forgive us. We were simply surprised to find out what you are. Surprised, and perhaps a bit frightened. I, for one, believed vampires to be myth.”
“I apologize for the outburst. I know that your people teach that vampires are born of dark magic and that you must be quite afraid.” Her voice was velvety smooth and alluring. Alison looked at Idris at the mention of dark magic; it was his area of study. No wonder he already knew Professor Marin’s secret.
“Debatable,” said Idris. “Dark and light magic are still the accepted divisions, but as you pointed out, there’s some debate about who defines what the natural order is or should be. There’s even debate about if the divisions should exist at all.”
“I don’t mind the dark magic label,” said Professor Marin. “I think it fits.” She gestured to the workshop.
It was clear now to Alison what the purpose of the shades and platforms were: to prevent Professor Marin from having to go out into the sun during the day.
“Wait,” said Keir, realizing something about the same time that Alison did. “You’re a vampire trying to harness the power of the sun?”
“I’m the vampire that did harness the power of the sun,” said Professor Marin. “Can you blame me? It’s my greatest nemesis. Who understands the power of the sun more than the vampire?”
Alison looked back at Lady Sibba, who had shrunk against the door. Weyland had put his arm around her waist. Rinka joined them, whispering to Lady Sibba to ask if she was alright.
“Tell me what you eat,” said Lady Sibba, her voice shaking. “And tell me how you eat it.”
Alison could hear Lady Sibba trying her best to understand. The schoolteacher was obstinate at times, but she wasn’t unreasonable.
“Blood, of course. Human blood, preferably, since I was once human, but any blood will do.”
