Father Figure (A Desmond Darke story)

kaosarcanna

If there's a downside to magical rejuvenation, Desmond Darke thought as he floated down on his flying carpet to the front of the Magic Lantern Bookstore, it's that youthful vigor and hot blood are ill suited to the deliberations of a mature mind.

Alicia Blackmun was waiting for him. “Hello, Desmond. It's good to see you again.”

It had been months since they had met, but the owner of the Magic Lantern Bookstore clearly remembered him.

Of course, he reflected, even in Millennium City there can't be too many three eyed mages with light purple skin. “Ms. Blackmun, I have more of those DEMON scrolls for you.”

“Thank you, Desmond. That's very kind of you.” Desmond had no doubt that Alicia received a lot of DEMON scrolls on a daily basis. Not only was she a very attractive young (seeming?) young woman, she was also good friends with the famous Witchcraft, and super sorceress could often be found in Alicia's company. The Champions' magic user was always willing to to offer advice and praise to young heroes.

Desmond himself had waited impatiently to catch Alicia without Witchcraft present.

The young sorceress was a bit naive, but she was by no means stupid. It would not do for Witchcraft to discover that Desmond was not exactly the upright hero he presented himself to be. No, it was best he avoid the young Champion as much as possible.

“Ms. Blackmun--”

“Please. Call me Alicia.” She smiled as she said it, and Desmond could not help but notice it was a most becoming smile.

Careful, he cautioned himself. You may have a youthful body now, but an attractive young woman can still make an old fool of you. Remember what happened with Kitty. “Alicia, might I speak with you in private? I have a favor to ask of you.” He was not a man to beg for anything, but he did not hesitate to add, “Please.”

“Of course, Desmond. We can speak in my office. Follow me.” Alicia led him into her bookstore. The front of it was filled with New Age crystals and popular books. A pretty young girl was stocking the shelves and another woman was sitting at a table laying down Tarot Cards for what looked like a robot cowboy straight out of Snake Gulch.

With great effort, Desmond prevented himself from sneering at what he saw.

“It pays the bills,” Alicia said with a shrug as she caught his look. She led him into the back of the shop towards her private office. “Come in. I've got a fresh pot of tea on, and I'm just dying for a fresh cup. Do you like tea, Desmond? Would you like a cup?”

“Yes.” He sat down in the chair in front of her desk. He glanced around, and his third eye told him the tomes and crystals and assorted paraphernalia on the book shelf behind Alicia’s desk were the real deal. “Honey, no sugar.”

The bookseller handed him a cup. “Now what can I do for you?”

“Thank you.” Desmond blew on his steaming hot cup of tea. “Shortly, a young sorcerer named Thomas Gunn should be coming to your bookstore. He was stabbed by a DEMON Morbane with a poisoned blade. They call the poison Magebane.”

“How do you know this?”

“Thomas was my apprentice. I have my ways. He will be coming here looking for a cure. I already found it.” Though he supposed “found it” was a bit of a misnomer. He had just attacked every DEMON he could find until he found one that could give him an answer.

He handed Alicia a small bottle.

“A Mundane cure. Magebane feeds on magic. Quite clever actually.” Magic users tended to use magic to heal their wounds and injuries, of course. Either their own or that of a friend or an ally. With Magebane, that would just make the victim weaker. Eventually, even conventional medicine would not be able to cure them. “I believe they intended to use it against Witchcraft, and Thomas was simply a test subject.”

“How did you learn all this?” Alicia took the bottle with an amused smile.

“I can be very persuasive.”

“This could be a lot of trouble for magic users everywhere,” Alicia murmured. “But at least we know how to fix it.”

“Yes. I believe that I located all of the poison DEMON had on hand. It should not trouble us in the future.” He took a sip of the tea. “This is very good.”

“Thank you. I brewed it myself. It's a rather special tea.” Alicia took a sip herself. “Did you destroy all of the poison?”

“Oh no. I kept a small portion just in case I should need it myself in the future--” Desmond blinked. “Why did I tell you that?”

“Because I brewed a truth tea,” Alicia told him with a smile. “It requires anyone who has drunk it to answer direct questions asked of them.”

“And you took a sip of it yourself?”

“Of course I did. I don't fear the truth. Do you?”

And this is what happens when I sit down to tea with a beauitful woman. “Sometimes the truth can be problematic.” Desmond sighed. He would have to be careful. He was required to tell the truth-- but there was more than one way to shade it.

“Why didn't you give this cure directly to Thomas yourself?”


“We had a falling out. That doesn't mean that I want to see him dead though.” That was the truth., so he was safe there. “I should be going now.” Before I say anything that could cause problems later.

He rose and turned to leave. He had just placed his hand on the door knob when Alicia spoke once more. “Thomas blames himself, you know.”

“For the poison?”

“He thinks that he miscast the spell that saved your life and gave you back your youth.” Alicia smiled and took another sip of her tea. “I've also had tea with him in the past.”

“That's foolish. He succeeded beyond my wildest hopes.” Desmond blinked his three eyes. “The side effects are … negligible.”

“Not to Thomas. He thinks the spell caused your personality changes. You are not the man he knew.”

“Thomas is a remarkably talented young sorcerer, but he has a tendency to see what he wants to see in people. I was never the kind, grandfatherly man he saw me as. I took him in, taught him the Arts, because I knew that he was my only hope. I used him.” Desmond shrugged. “Once I had what I needed, I discarded him. He doesn't mean anything to me. He never did. He would be much happier if he realized that and moved forward.”

“And yet you just went through quite a bit of trouble to save his life.” Alicia sat back in her chair.

“I owe him my life. I do repay my debts.”

“You taught him the Art. You gave him a home. I do not think he felt you were in debt to him. What he did for you, he did out of a son's love for his father.”

“I am not his father.”

“Perhaps not, but he thinks of you as such.”

“As I said, he has not moved on from his past. He would be wise to do so. I have.” Desmond paused. “Are you going to ask me to give you the Magebane poison?”

“I think not. When the time comes, I believe you will use it wisely.”

“Will you tell Witchcraft what you have learned?”

“She is a busy woman. She has more important things to do than listen to gossip.” Alicia paused. “Desmond?”

“Yes?”

“Why have you come to Millennium City? What is it you seek?”

“Power. I spent six decades learning my Art. Now I have the strength and vigor to practice what I have learned. There is no place on Earth that will not prove more useful to me than Millennium City.”

“And the fact that your apprentice came here before you has nothing to do with it?”

“He is--” Desmond growled as he struggled to fight off the tea's enchantment, and then he walked out the door without finishing his sentence.

No sooner had he left than the astral form of Witchcraft shimmered into existence. “Well, that was educational.”

“Indeed. Do you still think Desmond Darke can be trusted to help stop Luther Black and the Kings of Edom?”

“He assisted us with the DEMON outbreak. UNTIL informed me that he gave them aid during the Serpent Lantern affair. A magic user that can survive a battle with Viperia can be a powerful asset in the battle against the terrors of the Qliphoth dimension.”

“He is proud. Arrogant. And not exactly altruistic.” Alicia smiled. “And he had no idea you were present listening to our conversation.”

“Desmond has had decades to learn his Art, but only now is he able to practice it. He is powerful, but less experienced than either of us.” Witchcraft smiled at her friend. “And he was distracted by a pair of pretty eyes.”

Alicia blushed. “He's a loose cannon. What makes you think he won't ally with Shadow Destroyer and the forces of Qliphoth?”

“He is too proud to bend the knee to Shadow Destroyer. Or any Dark God.” Witchcraft frowned thoughtfully. “And he cares for the boy, his old apprentice. There is perhaps more goodness in Desmond Darke than even HE knows.”

“You do tend to see the good in everyone, Bethany.”

“There are dark times, Alicia. We must cling to the light-- no matter where we find it.” Bethany tapped her lip thoughtfully. “But the future of Desmond Darke is a matter for another time; make sure that young Thomas receives his cure. In the days to come, we will need every ally we can get.”

“Yes,” Alicia admitted. She raised her tea cup up to salute Witchcraft. “To the light.”

“To the light.” Witchcraft smiled once more, and then faded away, already turning back to the next crisis their world faced.

And with a weary sigh, Alicia Blackmun did the same.