Illusory

Chapter 16

"The most useful dark spell," Krekkel began in a languid purr, her head resting on the leather cushion beside me on the couch, "is the maiming spell. Of course, that's just my opinion. You may not even have the stomach for it. For you, I would recommend the mind control spell, especially the one intended for humans and others of the more intellectually gifted species."

"Is it complicated?" I asked, watching in wonder as the flickering flames of her fur coat did nothing to the leather beneath her heavy head. The fire didn't burn the couch, it didn't burn the floor, it hadn't burned the Styrofoam plate when she'd been licking it clean. Would it burn me, I wondered?

"Not at all," she answered, blinking lazily up at me. "It doesn't require much more than any white spell. You simply focus on your intended victim, speak the word, and you'll have control of the person's mind until they break your hold or you do. It's not particularly labor intensive."

"Do I have to be looking at the person? Do I have to be near them?" I asked, my fingers twitching as I kept them from touching her fiery fur. "Or can I do it from anywhere?"

"Highly skilled magicians can do it from anywhere, so long as they know what the victim looks like," she answered, and her eyes finally drifted shut. "I believe that you would likely have to be close enough to see them. You're not used to your power yet, and I doubt that it would stretch very far."

"Does the...the victim," I stammered, the word feeling incredibly wrong on my tongue, "know what you're doing once you're in their head?"

"Only if they're gifted in the ways of magic," was the rumbled answer. "Most normal humans would probably lose consciousness while you were in control of them."

"So I can't test it out on Van?" I said with a sigh, already wracking my brain for another nearby test subject.

"I wouldn't recommend trying anything on that man," she said, her eyes drifting back open to reveal a look of such seriousness that I physically drew away from her. "He's not much stronger than you, but he's much more experienced. He would bury you alive if you tried anything against him."

I nodded. "I figured as much." I wracked my brain for a moment longer, then looked at Krekkel curiously. "Can you alter your form at all?"

"Do you wish for me to become smaller," she began to ask, rising to her feet with another long, slow stretch, "or do you wish for me to change my form entirely?"

"If you could become smaller and a little bit less on fire, it would be greatly appreciated," I said with a quick nod of my head.

"You're lucky I've grown fond of you, tiny human," she murmured, straightening at the end of her stretch. "I would not take such orders from anyone who aggravated me as much as your species tends to."

"I didn't mean it as an order," I said quickly, eyes wide in surprise. She'd grown fond of me? In the hour we'd known each other? I must've been pretty damn awesome. Maybe even as awesome as I'd always thought I was! "I only meant it as a request."

"Mm," she purred, almost as if she didn't believe me. But then, in a blaze of floor-to-ceiling fire, she turned into a small black cat with real fur and no flames. It was still a bit larger than the average domestic cat, but it would work. "Is this all right?" Her voice was the same low, feminine thunder, even in spite of her decrease in size. It sounded even more odd coming from such a tiny animal.

"Perfect," I said, grinning at how cute she looked now. "Now, we need to head down to the park to try out this spell."

"You should have allowed me to remain in my natural form, then," she said, walking to the door as I did the same. "You could have ridden me there."