Her contemplative expression morphed into a grimace. “It will depend on what spirit crystals they have and whether or not they know how to use them.”
Fan-freakin’-tastic.
A few minutes later, the rest of my ancestor-guides were with me—spirit me—and I stared at Raiden with a sense of dread.
“You want me to make spirit illusions?” I asked him after picking my jaw up off the floor. “Ofall of us?”
“Yes,” he said, drawing out his one syllable until it felt like an entire speech.
“The more the better,” Than added. “We wantlotsof confusion. You’re the high mage of spirit now, so it’s well within your power.”
Yeah …I was sure a lot of things were within my power, but that didn’t mean I knew how to do them!
I shook my head. “I understand the need for a distraction, but there’s no way I’ll be able to concentrate on anything if I’m trying to manage a billion illusions.”
“She’s right,” Zia said. “But don’t bother making illusions of all of us. Just make a bunch of Than.” She pointed at him and shook her head. “He’s dressed like a ninja again, and for once, it looks like it’s to our benefit. Make a bunch of him, and they’ll be so caught up in trying to find the real one of him we should be able to move around easily.”
The others agreed, and then Than stood still, right in front of me as I studied him.
“Can all the high masters make illusions of people?” I asked, as my thoughts jumped to Zombie Nai from the Realm of the Dead. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be making any Zombie Thans.
“They can all make illusions of the magic they’re strongest at. Lucky for you, you’re the high master of spirit.”
So lucky. An illusion of a lake or fire probably wouldn’t help right now.
My attention zeroed in on Than, and then I tried to imagine making a copy of him. Something flickered next to him, and then Than 2.0 appeared, blinking at me curiously.
Holy mage!
“Keep going. That’s not enough,” Zia quipped.
I did it again, over and over again, until my grandfather’s office was brimming with Thans.
“Uhh, that’s probably enough,” Than said.
Lucia giggled. “Than number eleven is missing an eye.”
I looked up, and sure enough, one of the Thans had a single droopy eye.
Oops.
“Yeah, I’d better quit or the next one might be missing more than just an eye,” I said.
“Now, release control of them to us,” Than said.
Looking at the dozens of versions of him, I frowned. “How?”
“Direct them! You’re in charge. They’re just energy,” Lucia said.
Okay, that was creepy. “Uh,” I spoke out loud to the blinking room of ghostly Than versions. “You three go with Lucia.” I pointed at a cluster of them, and they nodded before zooming to her side.
What the mage?
“You go with Aine.” I pointed to another cluster. “And you with Raiden.” Another couple zoomed to his side. I directed another two to the actual Than and the final cluster with me.
“You’re with me,” I told them and then turned to Zia. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like you to be with me too.”
She nodded. “You got it, kiddo.”
