Spirits

[POV Lycan]

The boy was curious. Very much so. I wasn't sure of what to think of him. He seemed wise and powerful beyond his years but sometimes his youth outshone those two. I had sensed the commotion that happened upstairs and took a look in my own magically enhanced mirror.

The boy had become cunning, he had outsmarted Alaric and took revenge on him. Not that of an admirable of a feat since Alaric wasn't the smartest around but it only took a day for the boy to change.

And also the whole situation with the wampus cat. That definitely piqued my interest in the boy even more. I knew that the boy was special because of his half-vampire powers but to attract the Prince of the wampus cats was something else on it's own.

Wampus cats in the forest around this manor are of a special breed. They breed the strongest of the strongest and we settled here for that exact reason. They're a great way to scare off intruders. In the olden days they taught our ancestors to use occlumency and legilimency as well as hypnosis. Especially that last feat was interesting due to the boy's natural talent in it.

The wampus cats that are bred here become Kings. They rule the wampus cats in their native lands and some have even achieved to rule them in others. They're the king of the jungle just like the lion is to muggles.

I had to inquire with the Oracle what she thinks about the situation. Because if we take one misstep with that boy's future then we might lose him entirely. I sat down in the dining room and waited for Katherin and Celeste to arrive.

We had not spoken of the whole ordeal yet with the wampus cat and I wasn't sure yet to let him keep it. The wampus cat might still be a baby but when it grows stronger it might grow out of control. After all it was a prince and after his dad dies the young wampus cat will have to take over.

Finally the two women arrived and they sat at opposite ends of each other. Katherin was the first to begin talking ''What do we do with the wampus cat? On one hand it might be able to teach Anthony legilimency and occlumency, but on the other hand it might switch moods any day and kill Anthony.'' Katherin said with a concerned look in her eye. She cared greatly for the boy.

I nodded, teaching Anthony legilemency and occlumency was crucial if he wanted to survive and bring out the full powers of his eyes, but I would also be able to train the boy in the place of the wampus cat.

Celeste had a pensive look on her face ''But wouldn't it be best to leave the wampus cat with him? Besides, Vlad Drakul was rumored to have a wampus cat as a friend and teacher, not a pet, but a friend! Wouldn't it be beneficial for him to learn like in the olden days?''

Once more I nodded, both were great points. But the boy was still so young, he might not be able to handle the wampus cat if it lashed out. Wampus cats are known to lash out at their masters. But if the wampus cat thinks of Anthony as a friend and not a master it might be better to leave them be.

''I say we shelf the topic for now, the wampus cat hasn't done anything to incriminate himself as of yet, besides being criminally cute.'' I much liked the wampus cat called Lucifer. It's just that I had trouble with the mother of the young wampus cat.

Back when I was young I trained under a wampus cat in the arts of occlumency but I wasn't that gifted. My visual prowess came from hard work, but wampus cats are known to be inpatient. I was still young so I grew hate for the wampus cat. Not seeing how foolish I was. I should've been grateful for the wampus cat even attempting to teach me seeing how horrid I used to be.

But nonetheless, that hate rubbed off on it's child and it seemed I still harbored some disgust for the creatures. After all it's mother did slice my chest open and nearly killed me. Wampus cats are known to be ruthless if they observe something to be useless.

The women both nodded, Katherin with some reluctance but it would be unwise to act so quickly. The boy and the wampus cat seemed to have bonded rather quickly and to separate them now might cause complications in the future.

[Back to Anthony POV]

When I came back everyone had a serious look on their face. I wonder what had transpired? I hope it wasn't anything about me. I really despise it when people talk behind my back. It just feels uncomfortable to know that people talked badly whilst you're not in their presence. But I wasn't sure if they talked badly or not so I didn't comment on it.

Lucifer was again trotting on the top of the table, collecting his second batch of pets. But this time when he passed Lycan he hesitated and came back. Lycan petted Lucifer and Lucifer purred loudly. Almost shaking the foundations of the house in the process.

Not long after I sat down Alaric came down and sat beside me. His usual well-kept hair was a mess after tussling with the snake. I chuckled inwardly, revenge really was a dish best served cold. And Alaric didn't even know his suffering wasn't over.

We started with an appetizer in the form of tomato soup. When Alaric was just about to taste the soup when a small snake drifted to the surface. Nilsey had put it in his soup at my personal request. I told her that Alaric really liked snakes in his soup and apparently she found one somewhere.

Alaric screamed and grabbed the snake and threw it away. After he threw the snake he hid behind his chair, but after a couple of seconds he regained composure and sat on his chair and acted like nothing happened.

But he looked at me suspiciously. It seemed he now finally understood what happened back in his bedroom. I looked away innocently but two horns could be seen growing out of my head. I was turning into a sly, cunning little demon.

Lucifer ate some food off my plate and then sat back, fully satisfied. It was almost like he was pregnant. I pet his belly and finished my soup. When the main course I could clearly smell the faint scent of garlic in the air.

Nilsey floated the plates on the table and I took my first bite. And as soon as I took a bite I immediately spat it out again. The garlic burned the inside of my mouth and in general had a disgusting flavor. If it was just the slight burning it would be alright but the horrible flavor made it impossible to eat.

I looked at Lycan and he seemed to be in slight discomfort but overall he seemed to be okay with the garlic. Same thing with the rest of the family. My step-dad had a concerned look on his face. ''Are you alright Ant?'' I nodded and tried another bite. It wasn't that bad when you got used to the flavor.

I ate a quarter of my plate but then called it quits. Next was a load of delicious pastries which Alaric and I consumed like it was our last meal. But then I was off for bed. Tomorrow was a busy day, I had training with Lycan tomorrow and I was looking forward to it but was also hesitant. The magic that Lycan wielded didn't feel normal, it was closer to the magic that Oni had.

I told everyone goodnight and hit the hay. Once more I instantly drifted off without taking my clothes off. But it had been a productive day where I learned a lot.

[Next Day]

The next day arrived and once again I was blinded by the light that entered through my curtains. I quickly got dressed and flirted with my mirror again so she would fix my hair and made her cast a cleaning charm on me. It wasn't effective as showering but I was already late as it was.

I got downstairs and Lycan was already waiting for me so I picked up a couple pastries and ate them whilst we were heading for the backyard. We walked for a mile or so until we were in this huge clearing. A river flowed calmly against a couple of rocks and it was a real calm setting. I could feel the stress of the last day being cleansed from me.

I noticed that Lycan was outside in the sun without wearing any protection so I inquired ''Lycan, might I ask something.'' Lycan nodded but still continued walking. ''How are you able to walk outside without being burned?'' Lycan chuckled and showed me a necklace around his neck. ''This is a sacred necklace passed down from the ancient ones in the Alucard clone. It's laced with charms that protect me from sunlight and other mild inconveniences like light poisoning''

So a family heirloom huh. That's actually very handy but it must've been hard to create. My ancestors were some strong vampires, they might have actually been a mix of the two. After all Lycan also had magic so it wouldn't be so crazy as to think my ancestors were also capable of having magic.

We finally reached our destination. It was a waterfall. We were standing almost directly under it but if you looked carefully you could seem that the waterfall was hollow. You could probably walk right through it and see what's at the other end of it.

''This is the waterfall where one fights his regrets, or any parasitic emotions that have plagued him. But you're not ready for that so we'll refrain from entering there. We're here to teach you about Spirit Magic and Spirits in general. We might even be able to contract you to one, if the spirit agrees of course.''

I looked around and definitely got where he was getting at. The magic here felt ancient, vibrant even. The air seemed to be full of it. We sat down on a tree trunk and silently watched the waterfall for a minute.

''Spirit Magic otherwise known as Ancient Magic is an ancient form of magic that has been around way before the existence of wands. Wizards would form a contract with a spirit and in turn they'll be able to use their magic. The spirit would in turn not be hunted and even protected by the Wizard.''

Lycan looked at me to make sure if I understood and I nodded at him. ''Spirits vary in many different forms, the most famous are the ones that control the seasons and other things like the Sun/Light.''

Lycan observed my neck carefully and saw a rune in my neck. ''I see you've already met Oni. She put a rune in your neck. The number 7, to be unknown. It dictates that your future is unknown. The unknown is a powerful rune, able to withstand a lot of magic. I see she has passed some of her magic onto you.''

I nodded, the number 7 is known to be a mysterious rune. I wonder if she only picked that rune because my future is unknown or if she had any other motivation.

Lycan continued ''But sadly that means any other spirit will not bond with you. Unless you dispel the rune of course, but that means you would need to use up all of the magic instilled into the rune. Which I recommend you not to do.''

'''But that's besides the point. Spirits are classified into 4 levels. They are as follows: Basic, Advanced, Kingly and Godly. The spirits from the four elements; Fire, water, wind and earth are the most common and tend to be basic spirits. But spirits that are a mix of those often tend to be the strongest. They belong to the King and Godly tier.''

This made me curious, what level was Oni? She was a big Spirit since she controlled one of the four seasons so she had to be powerful. ''How strong is Oni?'' Lycan had a thoughtful look on his face but after a few seconds of thinking he answered my question.

''When it's winter I would say she's Godly but since she hasn't had her domain for so long and isn't that experienced I would say when it's not winter she's at King level. It's hard to force your element to come out when it's not your season. And considering she's inexperienced I'd say she's still not at that level yet.''

''But when it's winter she definitely is fierce. Sadly the winter solstice passed not too long ago so she's weakening in power. Spring is already gaining power after his slumber. But that's enough of that. I want you to feel spirit magic properly.''

Lycan ordered me to sit down and focus all of my senses. He said if I reached out with my natural magic that spirits would automatically come to greet me. So I did, but nothing happened at first. It was quite frustrating really but then I decided to focus my magic directly at the waterfall. I hoped that the waterfall contained a spirit and since water was a spirit I was sure there would be.

And after a few minutes it finally happened. Suddenly a figure emerged from the water. It was a goat but with human tendencies. It's face was human but he definitely had hooves. It had one horn, the other seemed to be ripped off.

''What are you doing in my swamp!'' The spirit called out. But then he turned around and scanned his surroundings. ''Hey I swore the last time I was called upon I was in a swamp. What happened to my usual home?'' The goat water spirit mumbled. Completely ignoring me, the one who summoned him.

Suddenly he pointed at me. ''You! Yeah you kid! Where am I and what happened to my swamp?'' I had a confused look on my face and didn't really know how to answer him. How the hell should I know what happened to his swamp.

I turned to Lycan but he also had a confused look on his face. ''Oh great Spirit, uhmm... '' What was I supposed to say against an ancient spirit? But I tried to make something out of it anyways ''You might not have a swamp anymore but now you have this beautiful waterfall. This is certainly an upgrade from a damp and cold swamp.''

''Yeah whatever kid, you got any booze? It's been a while since I had any.'' The water spirit's hands were twitching, he clearly was an alcoholic. Lycan just sighed ''That's enough of this, he snapped his fingers and the spirit faded back into water.''

Lycan turned to me and congratulated me for summoning a spirit. He seemed proud of me.

''Good job on summoning your first spirit! It definitely took me more than one try to summon one. But now I'll have you meet another spirit. The one I'm bonded with…''