Veronica and Laverick entered the meeting room at 9am to find Lord Quinn sitting at the head of the large table. “Good morning,” he greeted as the pair approached.
Veronica smiled. “Good morning. Will Zoe be joining us shortly?”
Lord Quinn was puzzled by the question. “Is her presence necessary?”
“Of course,” Veronica answered. “Laverick will need her in order to transform again.” She pulled out the chair to Lord Quinn’s left and sat down.
“It’s too early, Ma...” Laverick griped as he seated himself next to Veronica.
“Oh hush,” his mother snapped.
“I was under the impression that she would not need to be in attendance,” Lord Quinn asserted. “Laverick has taken her shape once before, can he not simply resume it?”
Laverick shook his head. “Nope, it doesn’t work like that. She’s gotta be here or I can’t do it.”
With a sigh, Lord Quinn got to his feet. “Very well. I shall return shortly.”
* * * *
Zoe sat in front of her bookshelf, flipping rapidly through every magic book she owned. From the moment she awoke that morning, she had immediately resumed her search for information on removing jinxes. However, despite her tireless effort, her hunt was unsuccessful. Dammit, I’m going to be stuck with this stupid jinx forever. She slammed the book in her hands shut. Okay, so I just need to think. What do I already know about jinxes? Well, I know that they prevent the afflicted person from conjuring through their center or performing enchantments, and that you have to be an advanced Shadow mage to cast them. That’s about it. Letting out a grunt of frustration, Zoe picked up yet another book and flipped through its pages. I know I read about jinxes in one of these – or was it in the library?
Without warning, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at her bedroom door. “Go away!” she shouted without looking up.
Ignoring her words, Lord Quinn entered the room. “It seems that your presence is necessary for Laverick’s transformation.”
Zoe shut the book and looked up at him before rising to her feet. “What makes you think I care?”
“I am uninterested in whether or not you care,” Lord Quinn calmly responded. “I will allow you one chance to proceed to the meeting room and cooperate of your own free will. If not, I shall be forced to temporarily paralyze you once more.”
Zoe made her feelings clear by raising her middle finger.
Noticeably enraged by the gesture, Lord Quinn swiftly pointed his index finger at her and shouted, “Umbra immobilis mutus!”
* * * *
The doors of the meeting room burst open as Lord Quinn entered, carrying Zoe’s statue-like body. He placed her on her feet, in the same area of the room she had stood the previous day.
Veronica eyed Zoe, noticing her raised middle finger. “I’m assuming she wasn’t very pleased with the news.”
Lord Quinn rubbed his forehead as he sat down. “An understatement,” he muttered. Veronica chuckled.
“Now, shall we begin?” Lord Quinn suggested.
“As you wish,” Veronica replied. She glanced at Laverick, giving a single nod.
A large grin swept across Laverick’s face as he hurriedly got out of his chair and approached Zoe. “Hi Zoe!” he exclaimed. “You shouldn’t raise that finger. Ma says it’s a bad finger. Okay, well I guess I gotta borrow your body again so just hold still! Ha! Get it? It’s ‘cause you can’t mo–”
“That’s quite enough, darling,” Veronica interrupted. “There is much work to be done. You want to make mommy proud, don’t you?”
Laverick quickly nodded several times. “Uh-huh! Sorry, Ma, I’ll transform now.” Facing Zoe, he took a moment to carefully study her.
She was incredibly irked by his close proximity, especially knowing what he was about to do. At least my finger’s talking for me this time.
The wide grin returned to Laverick’s face as he placed both of his hands on the emerald tied to his neck. With his eyes fixed to hers, he said, “identitatis apparentia effingo,” causing him to morph into an exact replica of Zoe. Once the transformation was complete, he faced Lord Quinn and his mother.
“Okay, I did it,” he proclaimed with Zoe’s voice.
“Perfect,” Lord Quinn replied. “Now, listen carefully. Using her telepathic ability, Veronica shall lead you directly to the Spades’ headquarters. Once inside, you are to locate and secure the disk fragment. When it is in your possession, return to this room as soon as possible.”
Laverick saluted, “Aye-aye, Captain! You can count on me.”
“I urge that you monitor your behavior carefully,” Lord Quinn added. “It is absolutely imperative that the Spades are entirely convinced that you are Zoe. We cannot afford to raise any suspicion. Are we clear?”
“Yep,” Laverick responded. “Don’t you worry, they won’t suspect a thing.”
“I certainly hope so,” said Lord Quinn. “Now, I need you to listen carefully, Laverick. Once you have left the mansion, you are to proceed directly to the building which once housed Roshan’s Cafe in northern Cymbeline. Knock on the door six times and you will be let inside. I’ve had my men working hard to reconstruct the old man’s previously destroyed gateway. By passing through it, you will be led to the same area of the In Between in which the fragment was, apparently, delivered by a blond-haired young man. I can only assume that this is the same person your mother witnessed handing the fragment to Zoe. From that point on, your mother will direct you telepathically to the Spades’ headquarters.”
“Okie dokie!” Laverick exclaimed as he excitedly dashed toward the door.
“Stop!” Lord Quinn shouted. Freezing in his tracks, Laverick slowly turned around. Lord Quinn got out of his chair. “You will require appropriate dress as well as the purple crystal used to access the base.” He reached down and picked up a brown sack resting on the ground by his chair. Handing it to Laverick, he explained: “Inside is a change of clothes as well as one of the aforementioned crystals. We will leave the room momentarily to allow you time to dress yourself. Make certain you remove your necklace and secure the crystal in your pocket. Be very careful not to misplace it.”
Laverick took the bag and examined its contents as his mother and Lord Quinn walked out of the room. The pair waited outside until they heard Laverick shout, “Kay! You can come back now!”
They reentered the meeting room to see Laverick now dressed in clothing strongly resembling what Zoe had worn during her expedition to Valdis Prison, the only addition being a black cloak. “Excellent,” Lord Quinn remarked. “Do you have the crystal?”
“You betcha,” Laverick reported, pulling the purple crystal out of the cloak’s pocket and displaying it briefly before tucking it away.
“Then it seems you’re ready,” said Lord Quinn, “though I suggest concealing your emerald.” Complying, Laverick quickly removed the emerald necklace and added it to the contents of his cloak pocket. Lord Quinn turned to Veronica. “Will I be required to leave as you establish the telepathic link?”
“Not at all,” she replied. “The link will allow me to see what he sees and communicate with him via my thoughts. However, there’s no mind reading involved, and I will not need to activate my emotional sense to form a connection.”
“Magnificent,” Lord Quinn commented. “Then let us delay no longer. Proceed at will.”
Veronica placed her index and middle fingers on her temples as she turned to Laverick, shutting her eyes and focusing all of her attention to him. “Lumen intellectualis connexus!”
The room was silent for a moment before Laverick said aloud, “Yep! I hear ya loud and clear, Ma!”
“Marvelous!” Veronica responded.
Lord Quinn glanced at a nearby clock before looking back at Laverick. “Now that all preparations have been made, you must make haste. I’ve given the manor’s guards and servants tasks to keep them out of the lobby as you exit the mansion, considering they had received previous orders to apprehend Zoe if she attempted to escape. Remember, the moment you leave this room you are Zoe. No one else must know your true identity.” Obeying, Laverick walked to the door once again and exited the room.
Once he had left, Veronica and Lord Quinn resumed their places at the table. After several moments had passed, she reported, “He’s well on his way to Roshan’s Cafe as we speak.”
“Excellent,” Lord Quinn replied. “Inform him to take as much time as he deems necessary to complete this mission. Considering the In Between’s vastness, I’m expecting it to be a lengthy endeavor. Nevertheless, when it comes to the disk fragment, I am exceptionally patient.”