Cavendish glanced quickly at Tremblay and then away before he nodded. “We should do it,” he said quietly.
Zach slumped in relief. They werefinallygetting somewhere.
“That settles it, then,” Kensington announced. “Let’s take a break to eat, then we’ll meet back here to discuss exactly how we’ll do this.” He reached over and clasped Zach’s shoulder. “We’re going to get him back,” he promised.
Zach swallowed past the lump that suddenly formed in his throat, and he nodded in acknowledgement.
Chapter 16
Hashtag thoughts and prayers
The settlement they’d been to before was closer than Drew thought, and it wasn’t long before it came into sight. Andras touched Drew’s arm to bring him to a stop and then guided him off into a small copse of trees. “Do you know how to do a glamour?” he asked.
Drew shook his head, even as he crouched down to allow Leila to hop off his shoulder and scratch around in the dirt. The urco followed her around, sniffing at her, but keeping his fangs respectfully covered. “No. Zach took care of that last time.”
“I thought so,” Andras said.
“How could you tell?” Drew asked, eternally curious about magic and how others interacted with it.
“I’m familiar with his signature,” Andras explained. “Though I originally clocked you both because the demons he made you look like are the same as the ones he used in the past on both of us. It wasn’t until I got closer to both of you that I could determine the magical signature was definitely his.”
Drew nodded. “What does a magical signature look like? I’ve not really noticed anything like that before.”
“Not everyone can tell the difference. It’s just one way in which magical powers vary between people. If you’ve not noticed anything, then I’d say it’s not how your magic works.”
“Huh. That’s so cool.” It never ceased to amaze Drew about the intricacies of this new world he found himself in. “What does Zach’s signature look like to you?”
Andras considered this. “It’s a little hard to explain, but it looks like how slightly burnt caramel smells.”
Frowning, Drew tried to comprehend this. Finally, he shook his head. “Nope, you lost me.”
“I told you it’s hard to explain,” Andras said. “It’s not quite a colour, or a smell, or even a feeling. It’s just asense.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Drew told him. “So, glamours? How do I do them?”
“It’s a simple premise, but there’s a few mistakes made by beginners that can make it a little tricky. Essentially, you’re taking the image of a demon and projecting it around yourself. This encourages others to see that demon and not your squishy, human self.”
“And it also encourages everyone to see a different demon to your ‘wanted by Lucifer’s Shadow Blades’ self?” Drew surmised.
“Exactly!” Andras agreed. “That way, no one will think it’s worth their while to hand me over in exchange for the reward.”
“There’s a reward for your capture?” Drew asked. “You didn’t tell us that.”
“That’s because it’s new,” Andras replied airily. “It’s quite a big one too. While I’m flattered, it will make things rather more complicated than I’d like.”
Drew tried to think of the various demons he’d encountered so far. “I’m not sure how I’ll do coming up with the images,” he admitted. “I noticedsomedetails about the demons we saw, but what if I get something wrong? Won’t that be super obvious?”
Andras shook his head. “Demons are so terribly varied that it won’t have to be perfect. You’ll do fine.”
“What are those mistakes I need to avoid?” Drew asked.
“It’s mostly a mass issue. For instance, if you project the image of a demon who is seven feet tall, but you’re only five and a half feet, and another demon tries to touch your projection’s shoulder, they won’t be able to. The trick is to keep the projection as close to your own shape as possible, and then just alter the appearance.”
“I’m taller than five-five!” Drew protested. It wasn’t by much, but those couple of inches counted, okay?
“That’swhat you took from that?” Andras demanded.
“No, I heard the rest. I just wanted you to know that I’m actually five footseven.Thank you very much.”
