“Can I see?” asked Eddie excitedly.

“Wait,” said Inez, taking the wand from Maude. “We have to act quickly to save the spell.” She waved the wand over the rings and chanted in Greek again. Sparks jumped between the wand and the rings. When she finished, she gave one ring to Eddie and one to Sydney. They slipped them on, and Sydney’s breath caught.

“Strange . . .” she murmured. “I feel like something just locked into place.”

“Those rings bind the spells to you now,” said Maude. “Take them off, and your original appearances will return. Otherwise, they should last for about a week.”

“That’s your real deadline,” added Inez. “You can probably hide when your strength’s gone. But when your face comes back, the jig is up. Then you really will have to rely on your smarts to explain that away.”

Her voice was as sarcastic and crotchety as always, but underneath, I could tell she was worn out. A quick aura check proved as much. The magic they’d just performed here had been substantial, and it was only part of what had been started earlier today with the help of other witches. Sydney turned to Maude and Inez.

“I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done. Really. This means so much to me and—”

“No need to gush,” interrupted Inez. “We know you’re grateful. And you should be. But now you need to prove it and go clean up Alicia’s mess. Save your friend.”

Sydney straightened up. “I will, ma’am.”

The witches gave a few more last-minute instructions, both for Sydney and for me since I’d be joining them later to release Alicia, and then went on their way. Eddie and Sydney made a beeline for a mirror and exclaimed in amazement at their change in appearance. They had previously been mistaken for siblings, and now they just looked like a different set of siblings. They had the same blue eyes, and Maude had done a neat job of making them look pleasantly average. Hopefully it would ensure no one gave them a second glance.

I’d just finished helping them dye their hair “Burnished Chestnut”—a shade that was dark brown with a faint red cast—when Sabrina showed up. Her normally cocky persona faltered a bit as she took them in. She’d grown used to a number of weird realities, but human magic wasn’t something she’d had a lot of experience with.

“Incredible,” she murmured, looking back and forth between their faces. “I’d never think it was you. You could walk right past the Alchemists now.”

Marcus, watching with amusement, crossed his arms and leaned back into Howie’s overstuffed sofa. “Maybe your friends can hook me up with that spell once in a while. Going incognito would be pretty handy.”