1935, LA
Ashley's knees slammed into concrete as he fell onto the factory floor, briefly knocking the wind out of him. Before he could scramble to his feet, the cold barrel of a shotgun pressed into between his eyes. Ashley looked down the barrel and up at the deathly pale, pinstriped mobster glowering over him.
"I'll ask you one more time before I blow your brains out." The mobster snarled. "Where did you get the gold?"
"I told you. It’s a family heirloom. You can have it! Just let me-"
Ashley was cut off by the barrel of the shotgun smacking into his face with a sickening crunch, drawing out a shrill shriek as he clutched his broken nose.
"Don't lie to me." The mobster tipped Ashley's head up with the muzzle of the now bloody shotgun, flashing a sinister, sharp-toothed grin. "I know your kind; You'd have sold off that gold for scraps or booze years ago. You got that recently. How?"
Ashley’s short life flashing before his eyes, he couldn't lie. "I-I made it."
"Unlicensed Alchemy? From a kid?"
Ashley flinched as the vampire lifted the shotgun, readying another strike. "No- no- I... I made it with my- my... powers." Ashley choked out between bloody coughs.
"Demonstrate."
"I need a rock, or something, to transmute."
The mobster kicked a pebble towards him, which he quickly picked up and clutched in his hand, desperately trying to concentrate for long enough for his magic to work. Gradually, the rock heated up and slowly transmuted to a shining gold bauble. Ashley held it up, hands shaking.
"You'll have some use after all," He grabbed Ashley's wrist and yanked him to his feet, ignoring the golden pebble clattering to the floor. "The Don'll be very pleased."
"The Don?"
"The Dragon."
...
Ashley bolted upright in bed, sweat pouring down his face. His hand reached for the knife under his satin pillow, gripping the ornate gold hilt tightly. His other hand dug into his sheets, ripping a hole into the material as it slowly turned into dense, unpolished iron. He stood up hastily, brandishing the knife in front of him in his dimly lit room. After a minute of no movement in his room, Ashley calmed down, adrenaline draining out of him as quickly as it came.
As it did, his hand slowly returned to flesh and bone with a painful pop and he tucked his knife away. He was still rattled, rattled but alone. He wondered what he'd look like to an intruder if he wasn't alone; All 5'5" of him, waving a knife around in his boxers, his hair wild frizzy, and untamed.
That was the third time this week he had similar dreams, the last thing he wanted to do was dwell on the past. Thankfully, he'd woken just in time for work, which he was moe than willing to drown in.
Ashley had rented out the apartment across his and turned it into his workshop. It was just as spacious as his flat. A now dormant furnace stood in its centre, and transparent shelves full of useful material and oddities Ashley had picked up over the years lined the walls. Ashley fed the furnace and switched on the pilot light. As the crucible within slowly heated up, he pulled a cup of course copper scrap and powder from a shelf. Ashley poured the powder into the red hot crucible and watched it quickly melt. He pulled the crucible out with one hand and poured the molten copper into his other.
All Ashley was heat, not pain, just a dull warmth, like his hand was on the surface of slightly too hot bathwater. As the metal cooled into a semi-solid form, Ashely shaped it like clay into a rosette, cradling it until it cooled to its solid state.
After a day of throwing himself into his work, Ashley had all but forgotten his nightmare. He was very proud of his output despite the fact that the three necklaces, three pairs of earrings, five rings, and a bracelet were mostly made of scrap metal, loose wires, pipe cleaners, and rocks.
An easy fix. One by one, Ashley lifted each item and cradled it in his palms, relaxing his concentration and letting his magic flow through his hands into his fingers. The scraps slowly transmuted into precious metals, gold, silver, platinum, or precious gems.
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