Chatoyant College, Book 13: The Teeth

Chapter 66: The Magical Net

Corrie was a little surprised to find that she was getting more and more enthusiastic about this plan as they discussed it. She didn't really need to be convincing Troy and Link of the plan—it was the magic professors' plan, so it was their job to get the Djanaea on board. But she wanted the plan to work, even if not all of it made sense.

Maybe it was just that it was the only plan they had. She wanted Gerlina to be caught; she wanted the murders to stop. If this was going to give them the best chance, then she wanted everyone in on it.

"I didn't know there were werewolves on campus," Link admitted.

"Just one," Corrie said quickly. "The others meet a mile or two from campus on the full moon. But my father is one. That's why I think we can get their help." She decided not to bring Charlie into it explicitly; if he didn't want the Djanaea to know about him, it wouldn't be fair for her to out him. Though now that she thought about it, she didn't know if he knew about the Djanaea, either. Or, for that matter, whether Tom did. This was getting more complicated.

"Can we tell them about you?" she asked. "The werewolves and our faerie friend, I mean. Otherwise it might be hard to explain what we're asking them to help with."

"We can just tell them that we're going to catch Gerlina and we want them as backup," Dawn said. "They don't need to know all the details."

"That seems a little unfair to them," Edie said. "They should know what they're getting into."

"You shouldn't ask anyone for backup without letting them in on the full story," Ginny said. "But I don't think we can say no to more help. Are you thinking of other students?"

"One of the werewolves is a student," Corrie said. "But not the faerie." She hoped Ginny wasn't going to tell them not to get any other students involved. That would be awfully hypocritical.

"I see," Ginny said. "If you are able to obtain their assistance, I think we should all meet back here later this evening. We'll need to make sure everyone is on the same page before actually trying to put the plan in motion."

"There is no need to contact them if the Djanaea do not agree to the plan," Professor Lal said, raising her eyebrows at Link. "Our current plan is useless without them."

Link grimaced. "Can you show me how this magical net works?"

"Certainly," Professor Lal said, standing up from her chair. "I will create a visible strand of the same fiber that we will use for the net. When we do capture Gerlina, it will be, of course, invisible."

She pressed her palms together, then drew them apart slowly. A shining strand of yellow light spooled out between them. When her hands were about a foot apart, the strand hanging like a rope of silk, she nodded to Link. "Would you care to test it?"

He looked skeptical, but stood up and walked toward her. Cautiously, he held out his hand and brought it down between hers. His hand passed through the strand of light as though nothing were there.

Professor Lal tilted her head toward Professor Rook. "And now he will demonstrate."

Professor Rook didn't look as though he liked this any more than Link did, but he stood up and moved toward Professor Lal. He lifted his arm, then seemed to think better of it and brought his arm below the strand instead. Corrie felt for a four-leaf clover, realizing there must be something in his true form that made one approach better than the other, but she didn't have time to find one before Professor Rook had stopped, his hand stuck in the strand of light, unable to move any further upward.

Frowning, Link brought his hand up next to Professor Rook's, and it passed through the light again. He tried to pluck at the strand, but obviously couldn't get any purchase on it. Finally, he stepped back with a nod. "It seems to work."

"So you'll stop arguing?" Troy asked.

Link turned to him and crossed his arms. "You can do it if we can get the backup. And I'm going with you—I won't let you play bait alone."

"No, she's only looking for me," Troy said.

"Will that even work?" Dawn asked. "You said she wasn't interested in Link."

"I think it is worth a try," Professor Lal said as the light dissolved, releasing Professor Rook's hand. "If Link's presence keeps her away from Troy, we can try again with Link concealed; if Link frightens her, that is valuable information."

Link shook his head. "I don't think I do. She figured out pretty quickly that my illusions weren't going to hurt her."

"Then why don't we all meet back here at seven?" Ginny said. "Corrie, Dawn, and Edie, bring your backup if they've agreed. Then we can make this all more concrete."