Threads

Chapter Three: Part 2

            “You can dance if you wear them?” she said in awe. “Any sort of dance?”

            Azura shrugged. “Almost any. I enchant it with hip hop, salsa, ballroom, ballet, tango and an Irish jig. That seems to be enough for most people.” The next box held packages of pencils and erasers. Alice remembered seeing them on the shelves in the store.

“And what do you enchant these to do?”

            “Talking pencils and musical erasers for pranks,” Azura explained. “They’re very popular with magical students.”

            “Magical….as in, schools for magic?” said Alice, incredulously.

            “Oh yes, there are a few of them in every large town or city. Well hidden, of course. The students are some of our best customers.” A small white box was next.  It held gold rings, heavy enough to look real.

“Vanishing rings.” Azura smirked. “Very popular with those who don’t wish to be seen.”

                        “Okay. Hey, what do you use those bottles for?” She pointed at the tall set of shelves in the corner behind the desk. Amid an assortment of books and containers of all shapes and sizes there was a row of tall glass bottles with fat bottoms and curving skinny necks. Each one was topped by a cork, and she almost expected to see a genie floating around, trapped behind the glass.

            “Those are for the potions we make. Here, I’ll show you.” Azura made her way around the desk and took one of the bottles down. She handed it to Alice and turned to retrieve a tall glass pitcher filled with water from the lower shelf. “Uncork the bottle and place it on the desk top, please.”

            The cork popped out with a quiet “thock” and Alice placed the bottle carefully on the desk.  Azura tipped the pitcher over the bottle, pouring a stream of clear water, filling it nearly to the brim. She set the pitcher down and turned to Alice.

“Now, depending on what we’d like the potion to do, we choose our threads. This time I think I’ll create one of our “perfect excuses” potions. It helps create the best excuse possible for any situation, guaranteed to get you out of work, school, blind dates and other unpleasant duties.” She winked.

“First I want to create the base of the potion, a flash of inspiration.”           

A white thread amongst the tangle of magic above suddenly glowed more brightly, and Azura reached up and plucked it from mid-air, bringing it down to waist height. “Next we need a mindset, a tone, an air of truth to speech.”

A blue thread near Alice’s left ear flashed brightly, and the other woman reached over and plucked it up, making her flinch to one side.  Azura brought her hand down and the thread trailed after her fingers. She wound it around the white thread until the two were wrapped tightly together, making a glowing pattern of bright blue and white. Next, Azura lifted the pattern up and eased the end into the glass bottle, lowering it so it curled like a miniature cobra down into the bottom of the glass. As it filled the container Alice could see that the contents were beginning to turn a faint shade of blue.  Azura took the cork from the desk top and closed the bottle. 

“Done. Now if you were to need an excuse for skipping school or not coming into work, you would simply take a sip of the potion and then call your teacher or boss and hey, presto! Instant excuse.”

            “And it always works to get you out of whatever it is?”

            “Always.”