Circe抯 eyes grew wide. 揑saac. Is that what I think it is??
He nodded. 揃riseis transfigured this mixture for me the last time I stopped by. She is very skilled. Maybe even more than she realizes.?He rubbed his hands together like he was lotioning up. His hands glistened with the substance.
Persephone stepped forward. 揃riseis. You did this with no other training? No other preparation??She seemed absolutely dumbstruck.
揑 did something,?I said. I remembered how afraid I抎 been when he asked me to help him, but transfiguring the wolfsbane mixture had come naturally to me. 揑t felt like my muscles were coming off the bone.?I turned to Isaac. 揧ou never told me what it was for.?
His eyes glinted in the light. 揥atch.?
He stretched out his hands and flexed his fingers. A haze clouded the air around them. I blinked, thinking maybe I had something in my eye. It was like looking at the space right over the sidewalk on a blistering hot day. The strange halo of rippling air enveloped his hands completely, and suddenly, they were gone. His hands disappeared.
My heart cartwheeled in my chest but I stepped closer. Isaac shifted and extended his arms toward the surface of the table. In the space where I estimated his hands were touching the tabletop, the wood took on a wavy, mirage-like appearance and then disappeared, too.
Marie watched with wide eyes. Everyone, including Persephone and Circe, was struck silent.
揥hat you transfigured for me was an invisibility token,?Isaac said. 揑t renders an object invisible for a set period of time.?He drew his hand away from the table and it slowly reappeared. 揑t is very hard to manage.?
揥hat do you even need something like that for??Mo asked.
揑 have my reasons,?Isaac said.
Marie huffed. 揟hat抯 not suspicious at all.?
I stared at the empty space where his hands should have been.
揥ait,?I said. 揅ould somebody do this on a larger scale??
Isaac looked thoughtful. 揑 don抰 know. How much larger are we talking??
I glanced at the map, at the blank space in the center of the Black Sea. 揑sland sized.?
Circe looked at the map, too. Her lips parted but she didn抰梠r couldn抰梥peak. An improbable but intriguing thought bloomed in my mind.
揟hat would be next to impossible.?Isaac watched as his hands continued to rematerialize. 揂n island, even a small one, is still a huge undertaking. This single vial is barely enough to keep me completely concealed for a solid twenty minutes. Anything I come in contact with would also be affected for roughly the same amount of time, but imagine the amount that would be needed to conceal a piece of land.?
I walked over to Circe. 揟his has to be why nobody has been able to find Aeaea. If it抯 the only island out there somebody should have come across it by now.?
揑t抯 been cloaked,?she said in a whisper. 揌idden.?
揑t just isn抰 possible,?Isaac reiterated. 揟he kind of skill involved, the amount of wolfsbane alone棓
揗edea and the original Circe were on that island,?Circe said. 揟ogether. For who knows how long. They had more than enough skill to do it.?
揥hy hide it at all??Isaac asked.
揃ecause the island is sheltering something no one should know about.?Circe抯 tone turned dark. 揑t抯 there. The last piece.?
Lucille stood quietly by the fireplace, wringing her hands. 揗ust you go? There抯 no other way to get what you need??
揘o,?Circe said sternly. 揥e have to go.?
Lucille nodded but still looked troubled.
揃ut you think we have a chance??Mo asked. 揚lease be honest with me. Do you really think you can bring Thandie back??
Circe came over and crouched in front of Mo. 揑抦 going to do everything I can. And I will have to do things that might look bad from the outside.?
揑 don抰 care what it looks like to anybody else,?Mo said, squeezing Circe抯 hands. 揑抦 trusting you to bring Thandie back棓 Her voice caught in her throat. 揚lease bring her back.?
A terrible silence gripped the room. What we were about to attempt was impossible, and even if there was a chance we could find the island, get past whatever creatures guarded it, locate the Heart and combine the pieces, we wouldn抰 come out whole.
This was a hero抯 quest and something would have to be lost.
CHAPTER 12
Isaac ran his hands over his neatly trimmed gray beard and glanced at Circe and Dr. Grant. 揑f you抮e going to make this trip and it抯 as dangerous as it appears to be, then maybe it抯 best to let people know how you feel about them right now. Clear the air a little.?
Circe returned to her seat. Her face was tight, and it reminded me of the face I made when I was trying not to cry. She was holding her emotions in and it was starting to wear on her.