Edge of Pathos (Book 4 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 35

Valerie stayed in Henry's mind for a long time as he gifted Conjuror after Conjuror with different powers. There were two more lightweavers, more than a dozen with enhanced fighting reflexes, and many more with powers that Valerie had never heard of. They'd been dreamed up by Henry's imagination.

He was weary, but ecstatic. Valerie guessed that he'd keep working until he dropped from exhaustion or Kanti forced him to stop. But she had to pull away and return to the world and responsibilities that were waiting for her.

She had chosen today to visit Reaper's strongholds on Earth and the Globe as surreptitiously as possible. She doubted that Skye or Chisisi would approve of her putting herself in so much danger, but Valerie needed to see for herself what she would be up against.

At home, she wound her braid around her head and pulled on a sweatshirt with a deep hood. She looked in the mirror, shaking her head at her flimsy disguise, when she realized that she was thinking like a human. If she wanted a good disguise, there was an easy way to get one.

The Grand Master of the Glamour Guild, Roza, had set up a base on Earth in Italy. She'd told Valerie that if she was going to help fight this filthy war, then she'd live somewhere beautiful. From there, she and the members of her guild worked with soldiers of the Fist on various disguises, as well as hiding key safe houses around the world.

Valerie went to Roza's villa and found the Grand Master talking to some of the Masters in her guild. She'd exchanged her tentacles for legs, but she was still striking in an alien way in her human form. Roza dismissed her companions when she saw Valerie.

"If you are here for a cloaking spell for another hundred soldiers, I will need time," Roza said.

"It's nothing like that. I need a disguise for myself. A good one."

Roza examined her. "Who are you trying to fool?"

"Everyone. I'm going into the Fractus's camp, and I can't be recognized."

"I can't disguise you from a mind as well-trained as Reaper's. Even some of his generals would see through any disguise I could manufacture."

Valerie shifted uncomfortably. "I'm going whether you help me or not. Without you, I'm pulling this hoodie over my head and hoping for the best."

Roza snorted, the sound completely incongruous with her beautiful face. "Well, I can certainly do better than that. Come."

Roza led Valerie into a chamber off of the main hallway that was covered with mirrors.

Valerie was a little nervous as Roza examined her. "What will you do? Turn my hair blonde? Or make me into an animal, maybe?"

Roza chuckled. "Subtle disguises are the ones that work best. The magic is often overlooked, even by masters of the craft."

A gentle hum surrounded Valerie, and she watched as a touch of silver threaded her hair. The wrinkles by her eyes and in her brows deepened, and her skin was looser. As a final touch, Valerie's light brown eyes darkened until they were nearly black.

She could still recognize herself inside the disguise, she saw with relief. Her reflection reminded her of someone, but she couldn't put her finger on who.

"Now for your weapon," Roza said.

Valerie handed over the daggers she carried, and under Roza's touch, they dimmed. They weren't as perfectly black as the weapons wielded by the Fractus, but they wouldn't draw attention, like a weapon forged of light would.

"Will they still work like this?"

"Not as well. I worked with Cyrus to see if we could hide the light coming from the weapons, but altering them in any way corrupts the magic. So if you are attacked today, you will have little protection."