“Allow me,” Ian said. He flew to the cabinet, put his face down to the hole and made the light of his body go very bright. He reached in, moved something, and they heard a clunk sound. Then he put his head into the lock and his body followed. By the third move, he was halfway inside the keyhole, his wings flattened against him. He did a wiggling back out and the door opened.
“Very handy talent,” Mekos said as looked inside. There were two boxes on the shelf. One was metal. Beside them was a necklace.
“That’s Kaley’s Truth Necklace,” Mekos said. “I guess that right now she doesn’t want to know if anything isn’t true.”
“Or she’s with someone she trusts completely,” Aradella said as she looked at Mekos.
Arit frowned, seeming annoyed at their banter. “Get that box,” she said.
Mekos removed the metal box and opened it. Inside was a transparent half mask. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“It is,” Arit said. “You can change yourself or make another person into something different.” She glanced at Aradella. “Tanek and Kaley changed themselves and each other.”
“I like that idea,” Mekos said to Aradella. “We’ll try it. You can change me then change yourself. No one will be able to find us.”
When they got back to Aradella’s bedroom, Ian flew off Mekos’s shoulder and sat on a bedpost to watch.
Mekos handed the mask to Aradella. “You first. Change me into a ferocious beast so I can do away with Valona.”
“There is only one way to kill her,” Ian said under his breath, almost too quiet for anyone to hear.
Aradella put the mask to her face and it seemed to meld into her skin. She certainly wasn’t going to change Mekos into a fierce creature so he could risk being killed. Instead, with all her might, she wished to be as beautiful as a princess should be. In other words, she wanted to look like one of her cousins. Instantly, she felt different, and she looked down at herself. She was wearing a pale lavender dress, the color a mix of the pink and blue her cousins wore. When she turned to the others, their astonishment showed that it had worked. There was a mirror on the wall and she looked in it. She looked exactly like her beautiful cousins. Her hair was thick and glossy, her skin perfect, her eyes blue and her cheekbones high. Aradella turned around. “Well?” she said proudly.
To her surprise, Mekos was frowning. “I don’t like it.” His voice was almost angry. “Take it off!”
She was puzzled by his response. What man didn’t like beauty? The mask was easy to remove and she held it out to him.
Still frowning so deep his eyebrows met in the middle, he took the mask and put it on.
They watched as Mekos changed to look like his father. He was heavier, had a black beard, and he wore the skeptical expression that was always on Tanek’s face. Mekos turned to Aradella. “And now?”
She shook her head no. “It’s not right,” she said quietly. “Remove that thing.”
Mekos took the mask off and tossed it onto the bed like it was something dirty.
Arit looked at them. “I think you like each other as you are.”
Ian gave a snort of laughter. “You think so?”
Mekos ignored their comments. “We must think about what we need to do.” He paused. “Actually, it’s simple. Tomorrow,I’ll put on the mask and hide, then I’ll jump out at Valona and kill her.”
There was a long silence, then Aradella spoke. “Have you ever killed anyone before?”
“No,” Mekos said.
“And certainly not a woman,” Arit added.
“Of course not!” Mekos said. “But she must be stopped, and death is the only way.”
Aradella looked at him. “We’re an army of a Lely, a princess, and two Nevers. I can’t see that we’re going to strike fear in anyone, even if you make yourself look scary. Besides, if Valona is powerful enough that she can make a youth cream out of a person, she’ll probably be able to see past some magic mask.” When no one replied, she said, “I’m going to take a bath and wash my hair. I want to look my best for tomorrow. After all, I’m the Honored Girl.”
When Aradella was gone, Mekos looked at Arit. “Stay with her. She’s more scared than she lets on.”
Nodding, Arit flew away.
He turned to Ian. “I need to do some thinking. Want to go with me or stay here?”
In answer, Ian flew to Mekos’s shoulder.
