"I will demonstrate again. Watch closely this time."
Replacing the cross on the piece of wood, he stood back and clicked his fingers. Once again it disappeared and turned up in his hand. "Did you see?"
"See what?" I was confused.
"One final time," he said. "Try not to blink."
I focused on the small silver piece. I heard his fingers clicking and - keeping my eyes wide open - thought I saw the slightest blur darting between me and the cross.
When I turned to look at him, he was tossing the cross from hand to hand and smiling. "Figured me out yet?" he asked.
I frowned. "I thought I saw... it looked like..." My face lit up. "You didn't move the cross!" I yelled excitedly. " Youmoved!"
He beamed. "Not as dull as you appear," he complimented me in his usual sarcastic manner.
"Do it again," I said. This time I didn't look at the cross: I watched the vampire. I wasn't able to track his movements - he was too fast - but I caught brief glimpses of him as he darted forward, snatched up the cross, and leaped back.
"So you're not able to move things with your mind?" I asked.
"Of course not." He laughed.
"Then why the click of the fingers?"
"To distract the eye," he explained.
"Then it's a trick," I said. "It's got nothing to do with being a vampire."
He shrugged. "I could not move so fast if I were human, but yes, it is a trick. I dabbled with illusions before I became a vampire, and I still like to practice."
"Could I learn to do it?" I asked.
"Maybe," he said. "You cannot move as fast as I can, but you could get away with it if the object was close to hand. You would have to practice hard - but if you wish, I can teach you."
"I always wanted to be a magician," I said. "But... hold on..." I remembered a couple of occasions when Mr. Crepsley had opened locks with a click of his fingers. "What about locks?" I asked.
"Those are different. You understand what static energy is?" My face was a blank. "Have you ever brushed a comb through your hair and held it up to a thin sheet of paper?"
"Yeah!" I said. "The paper sticks to it."
"That is static energy," he explained. "When a vampire flits, a very strong static charge builds up. I have learned to harness that charge. Thus I am able to force open any lock you care to mention."
I thought about that. "And the click of your fingers?" I asked.
"Old habits die hard." He smiled.
"But old vampires die easy!" a voice growled behind us, and before I knew what was happening, someone had reached around the two of us and pressed a pair of razor-sharp knives to the soft flesh of our throats! I froze at the touch of the blade and the threatening voice, but Mr. Crepsley didn't even blink. He pushed the knife gently away from his throat, then tossed the silver cross to me.
"Gavner, Gavner, Gavner." Mr. Crepsley sighed. "I always could hear you coming from half a mile away."
"Not true!" the voice said resentfully, as the blade drew back from my throat. "You couldn't have heard."
"Why not?" Mr. Crepsley said. "Nobody in the world breathes as heavily as you. I could pick you out blindfolded in a crowd of thousands."
"One night, Larten," the stranger muttered. "One night I'll surprise you. We'll see how smart you are then."
"Upon that night I shall retire in disgrace." Mr. Crepsley chuckled.
Mr. Crepsley cocked an eyebrow at me, amused to see I was still stiff and half afraid, even though I'd figured out our lives weren't in danger.