“Do you doubt my skills?”
“No, I doubt the location.”
“Would you believe me if I told you I did escape from the dungeons of Cathair, not once but three times?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “How come they didn’t just execute you the third time? Or even the second?”
“Paperwork,” he explained as he scooted closer to me. “The Admiralty is insistent that everyone be processed and cataloged like books in a library.”
“Even when it comes to pirates?”
“Especially when it comes to pirates. The Admiralty wants nothing more than to brag to future prospective enlistees about their past captures. They can’t do that without some evidence, and the corpse might have rotted by then. Besides, there’s another advantage to being among the preening of society,” he insisted as he stepped back and opened his arms. “You could learn quite a bit about curses by mingling with those rich enough to have someone draw their bath.”
My face drooped. “That doesn’t sound like something I want to know about. Besides, how are we going to pass as one of them?”
He reached into his overcoat and drew out a small vial. The glass container was shaped like a gourd with a long neck and a round belly. “Would you believe magic?”
I blinked at him. “What kind of magic could get us into a swanky party?”
“The kind that hides our true features so no one will know it’s us. They won’t know it’s us, and won’t know we’re not one of them.”
A question popped into my head. “If you could do that, why didn’t you hide yourself when we first came here?”
“Because the spell only lasts for a few hours and breaks very easily.”
A snort escaped me, and he gave me a curious look. I smiled and waved my hand. “I just remembered a story I was told as a kid, about a carriage that would turn into a pumpkin at midnight. Anyway, what will, um, break it?”
“Other magic and water.”
My face drooped. “Really? Why water?”
He popped the cork that was attached via a slim piece of string around the neck and tipped the mouth into his palm. “Baba made this out of herbs, and water washes it off. If you get any one you, you’ll need another dose of it.” A single drop of purple liquid fell into his palm. “Dip your finger in this and drink it.”
My eyes flickered between his palm and the holder. “You promise you’ll get me out of any trouble I find myself in? I don’t want to have to blow on the whistle Adrien gave me already.”
“The worst that could happen is you’re thrown out of their party,” he promised me.
I sighed and dipped my finger in the goo. The magic was thick like cough syrup, and a distinct smell of garlic and salt tickled my nostrils. I took a deep breath and wiped my finger across the tip of my tongue. The goo tasted like an extra-tart herb. I puckered my lips, but managed to swallow the concoction.
My body tingled from head to foot. I looked down at myself and watched a shimmer of purple light start from my feet and travel up my body. My pulse quickened, and I lifted my chin like I was drowning. “Marc!”
“Just hold still,” he assured me as he poured out another droplet and licked the magic. “It’s just covering you in a layer of herbs to distort everyone’s view of what you really look like?”
I raised my hands to my face and watched the magic flow over me like waves over a sandy beach. “So will I be able to see what I look like?”
“Only in a mirror.” He drew his hair around and studied the strands. “Maybe this time I’ll be redheaded.”
“This time?”
“Every time Baba makes a new batch, the results are a little different because no herbs are exactly alike. One time, I was changed into a woman.”
My face drooped. “Please tell me that’s not what I’m looking like.”
“Well, you are definitely remaining a woman,” he assured me as he looked me over. “And quite a fetching one with raven black hair and pale skin.”
“Black hair?” I wondered as I drew forth one of my strands. My brown hair was indeed as black as night.
Marc tucked the vial away and spread out his arms. “What do you think of me?” I lifted my eyes and stared for a moment before I burst out laughing. He frowned and lowered his arms. “What is it?”
