She didn’t, which was insane. “You just said Vann Jeger would be a tough fight even foryou,” he reminded her. “You’re an A! I’m a J, and not even one of the good J’s. I’m alsosealed. I couldn’t give Vann Jeger an epicanything, except maybe a laugh.”
“All true,” Amelia said sadly. “But you’re forgetting something very important, which is that you are in the company of two incredibly talented mages.” She looked at Marci. “Once he’s in your circle, how long do you think it would take you to whittle Vann Jeger down to a manageable size?”
“Impossible to say without knowing how big he actually is,” Marci replied thoughtfully. “Maybe half an hour?”
Julius gaped at her. “Seriously?”
“I drained that tank badger in less than two minutes,” she reminded him with a proud look. “The time sink part of banishing a spirit is getting the spellwork set up. Once I actually start pulling, they go down quick.”
“So you really think you can drain enough to banish Vann Jeger in half an hour?”
“I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t,” Marci replied with a huff, folding her arms over her chest. “Pulling in magic is only slow if you’re dealing with power that’s spread out. Give me a proper, concentrated source, like a dragon, and I can drain that puppy in minutes.”
Her example made him wince, but if there was anything Julius had learned to trust about Marci, it was her knowledge of magic. If she said she could do something, then she could. “Okay,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “I believe you, but that still means I’m going to have to keep Vann Jeger in the circle and distracted for thirty minutes, and I just don’t see how that’s going to work.”
“That part’s easy,” Amelia said. “We’ll just make you look like something else.”
At this point, Julius would have sworn nothing could surprise him anymore. And he would’ve been wrong. “What?”
His sister’s smile grew smug. “You might be at the bottom of the magical food chain, but injured or not,I’ma total boss. Just because I don’t have enough juice to open a portal right now doesn’t mean I can’t smother you in enough raw dragon power to make you look like the Quetzalcoatl himself. Vann Jeger will eat it up.”
“Okay, so I’ll look scary,” Julius said slowly. “How does that help me not die when he hits me?”
Amelia shrugged. “It won’t, so I suggest making sure that doesn’t happen.”
Julius could feel himself going pale, and his sister sighed. “It won’t be that bad,” she assured him. “Like most geologically ancient spirits, Vann Jeger’s old-fashioned. He prefers banter and drama over modern efficiency. Also, remember that you’ll look like the sort of super powerful dragon he’ll want to savor, not rush through. Between all that, keeping him talking for thirty minutes should be child’s play, especially for someone who talks as much as you do.”
“Thanks,” Julius grumbled. But though he still didn’t like Amelia’s plan in the least, he was starting to see how it could work. From what Marci had told him in the closet, Vann Jegerdidseem like the type who could grandstand forever given a proper audience, and between his sister’s magic and Marci’s skill with illusions, he would definitely look the part. He still wasn’t optimistic about his own ability to keep an ancient spirit talking for thirty minutes straight, but it was definitely more viable than any scenario that required him to fight, which made this the best plan they had.
“Okay,” he said with a sigh. “I’m in. What do I have to do?”
Amelia’s face grew slightly terrifying. “Just hold still.”
That was the only warning Julius got before he was engulfed in fire.
***
It took almost five hours to get everything perfect. Or, at least, it took five hours to reach Marci’s definition of perfect. Julius had his own opinion of the situation.
“I feel ridiculous,” he growled, scuffing his feet on the workroom floor as he waited for Marci to finish packing her bag.
“But you look amazing,” Marci reminded him, looking him over for what had to be the hundredth time.
Even sulking like he was now, Julius looked absolutely incredible. As well he should, too, because the illusion Marci had done for him was quite possibly her best ever.
She’d covered him from head to toe, replacing his worn sneakers, t-shirt, and comfy jeans with pointed Italian leather shoes and a super expensive-looking dark gray power suit before topping the whole thing off with one of those perfectly styled messy haircuts you only saw on male models. But while that would have normally been enough, this wasnota normal situation, and so Marci had gone over him again, adding lighting and shadow effects to bring out the angles of his face and body, ensuring that every side was now his good side. Finally, she’d spent an hour sharpening and refining his features, transforming the normally boyishly handsome Julius into an intimidatingly handsome, extremely draconic version of himself. But as much as Marci wanted to claim all the credit, what really took Julius to the next level was his magic, andthatwas all Amelia.
As promised, she’d shellacked Julius with her fire until he was positively radioactive with power. Even his seal was gone, buried under the layers of intense dragon magic that glittered like banked coals just waiting for a chance to burst back into flame. The smoldering burn of magic followed his every glance, and even standing perfectly still, energy radiated from his body like he was barely holding his fantastic powers in check.
Even knowing it was all fake, Marci still got a chill every time she looked his way. Between the magic and her illusion, Julius really did look every inch the ancient, terrifying dragon he was pretending to be. Now, if she could just get him to stop looking so miserable about it, everything would be perfect.
“Cheer up,” she said, tucking several cans of spell-ready spray paint into her bag. “You really do look fantastic.
He stared down at himself in disgust. “I look like ajerk.”
“That’s kind of the point,” she reminded him. “Last I heard, ancient dragons aren’t known for their kind and friendly demeanor.”
She turned in a circle, checking her lab one last time. When she was certain she hadn’t forgotten anything, she zipped up her bag and loaded it onto her shoulder, stopping just long enough to let Ghost, who’d been anxiously waiting on her desk, jump inside. “Okay,” she said when the spirit had vanished into her bulging sack of supplies. “I’m all set. Let’s go do a final check with Amelia, and then we can head out.”
