Unknown L (Book 1)

~~~ Actions And Reactions ~~~

The Ogre brothers seemed to find the idea funny, Folen looked thoughtful, and Hallie didn't seem to be listening; it was Emilia who looked disapprovingly at Bryce.

"It's so dangerous, Brycathlen. What if she misunderstands something and disaster ensues? We won't have Vadim or the Council to help out there."

"I've thought about that, but you don't know L well enough yet. She is a true Keeper. She is smart, strong, and adaptable, and you'll only be teaching her physical things like sneaking and agility, heightened strength and senses. Nothing can go wrong with those, except that she isn't able to do it but you have to trust me, it will work... now, do you trust me?"

"You know I do, I just have to make sure you have thought about things before you go rushing in." Emilia's tone was caring and stern in equal measures.

Bryce smiled at his sister, "I appreciate that, but I have thought of every single detail and more. I planned out possible scenarios and impossible ones, too, just in case. Okay, now everyone needs to be ready at dawn, we'll leave before anyone else is awake and just as the Vampires and other night dwellers are going to sleep."

L shuddered when he mentioned the Vampires, and he side glanced at her, but she shook it off. She was surprised they were going so soon, though she wasn't about to point it out in case Bryce changed his mind. Robbie and his parents needed her. They needed to be rescued.

L let her thoughts distract her while she sat and watched the rest of the group. They were muttering between themselves about preparations. A few more minutes passed before Bryce moved to stand in the middle of them all.

"Thank you for coming on this mission with us. I don't know what we're about to get ourselves into, but I'm glad we'll be surrounded by friends and family. Oh, one last thing, we actually need to make the duplicates, so just stand still while Hallie and I get the specifications."

L raised her brow when he gestured for her to stand up.

"What do you mean by duplicates?"

Bryce leaned down into his bag and pulled the satchel back out. He held it on his palm while Hallie opened it up and took something from it.

"We'll have to leave duplicates of ourselves here so the Council and other members of the community don't get suspicious. Don't worry, it's just a bit of magic. It will act and talk like you, but that's it. Once we get back, the doubles will disappear, and nobody will suspect a thing... if all goes to plan, that is. Hallie and I have combined Fairy and Elf magic for this spell, so it should be foolproof. Just stand there and don't move."

L resigned herself to her confusion, but she didn't move as Hallie flitted over. L saw that she had a vial of something in her tiny hands. She poured a sprinkling of it over L, who tried not to sneeze when it hit her face. Slowly and then all at once, a strange, warm sensation coursed through her body. It was over within seconds, but L could feel that something very slight had changed.

She frowned at Bryce, and he smiled.

"You can move now. It's done. The spell will work to create a perfect copy of you. It will memorise everything over the next few hours, so make sure to speak and move in as many different ways as possible. It needs to be able to answer any question that might be thrown at you, as realistically as you would answer it yourself. It's a pretty sophisticated spell, so it should last for as long as we're gone."

L watched while the others were coated in the same powdery substance. They looked like they were shimmering for a few seconds, which was funny for Gart and Lort, but it disappeared quickly, and they all began to move again.

"Okay, now that that's done, we should head back. Get everything ready, and we'll meet at the North boundary just before dawn. It should be deserted. Try not to be seen while you're out, but if anyone asks, just say you're going for supplies... or just tell them to mind their own business."