Page 63 of The Shadowed Oracle
“This little beauty.” An odd, slimy green plant with blue leaves. “Is calledDalspectacus Arvenus. Or, Spectis Weed for short.”
Ingrid watched him closely as he delicately pulled a leaf from the weed.
“Just one of these will sync your genetic makeup with the surrounding habitat. You’ll be completely camouflaged. For four to six hours, I mean.”
“You’re messing with me.”
“Not in the slightest. It’s incredibly rare but, I have enough here for the journey.”
“Won’t our clothes show? You said it twists our genetic makeup?—”
“It cloaks us completely, clothes and all. Spectis Weed can also be ground into powder. If you sprinkle enough, you can hide anything you want. If ingested, it justknowswhat is most precious. Knows what to hide. Like magic.”
Ingrid shook her head harshly in disbelief, then, overcome, pushed Dean so hard he nearly fell from his chair. “You couldn’t have used this at the cabin?!” she shouted. “You didn’t think being invisible would help the… being run out of your home situation! Damnit Dean, what were?—”
He let out a booming laugh that stopped her. “No, no! It doesn’t work on Earth. All of Ealis’ trees, flowers, plants, rivers, everything—they have to interact and amplify each other.” He looked back down at the Spectis Weed. “In Ealis, it will give you a foolproof, chameleon-like disguise. But it’s about as useful as a blade of grass back home in San Bruno.”
“Oh.” Redness filled her cheeks. “Right. I knew that.”
“Don’t be embarrassed.” He set the jar down on the table, peeking down at the bag full of more encased wildlife. “I’mexcited to teach you all of this. Now that we’re here, we have a lot more at our disposal, more ways of protecting you. Part of my training thoroughly covered this exact situation.”
“Thisexactsituation?”
“Well, sort of. Mom’s training didn’t include bodyguarding an annoyingly sarcastic savior of the known worlds.”
Ingrid scoffed. “You left outcharming. Annoyingly sarcastic, incrediblycharmingsavior of the known worlds.”
“How could I forget?” Dean was casual, but unwavering in his stare, giving her that fixed glare of his as he continued, “Overly sarcastic, incredibly charming, resilient, intelligent, and easily the most remarkable looking woman I’ve ever seen in my life.” He smiled, somehow so expressive while exerting so little effort. “That last one, by the way, makes the sarcastic bit all the more annoying. It’s hard to get mad at a face like yours.”
Ingrid lingered on the words, unable to find a response. There was some snarky retort in there somewhere, but it was lost. In all the years of negating compliments just like these, she’d never once gotten tongue-tied. It didn’t hurt that he and the twins had a certain glow to them now that they were in Ealis. Or that Dean’s beard stubble had reached the perfect length, giving his face a gruffer look, almost wiser.
The most vexing thing, however, was how easy Dean had slipped in the compliment, and the utter comfort he now had sitting on it patiently, waiting for her reaction.
“That was… nice,” she said hesitantly, voice catching. “Thank you.” What little awkwardness she felt bubbling up inside evaporated when Dean simply waved her off.
“Speaking of your face,” he went on. “We’ll need to disguise you.” He reached down to his large duffel bag again, rummaging around for a minute. The clanking of glass and the rustling of the linens he’d used to prevent breakage made it seem like a much deeper compartment than she’d thought.
Finally, he pulled out a small box. A leather eyeglass case, weathered at the corners, and engraved with a smallK.
“Glasses, really?” Ingrid asked. “You got a wig in there, too?” She would’ve laughed if she weren’t so underwhelmed. Ealis producing a weed that could turn her into a human-sized chameleon, but not something to change her facial features had to be a joke.
“Not glasses. They’re contacts,” Dean said. “Damn good ones, too. At least, when Karis wore them, I always thought so. Here, take a look.”
With a grandiose presentation, Dean opened the case and lifted it in front of Ingrid. There were six small mounts made of clear glass, all holding lenses that would turn her eyes a dark brown.
“Made here in Ealis, of course,” Dean said proudly. “From Viator tissue and a concoction of two other wonder plants called—well, no, that would bore you. My point is, you don’t even need to clean them. They have their own anti-bacterial coating inside.”
Ingrid took a closer look at the lenses. They didn’t seem extraordinary, or even creepy, considering what Dean had just said about “tissue.” But they did present a possibility that Ingrid tingled at the thought of.
Her eyes had always been a glaring example of her otherness, her isolation. She’d gotten so used to people asking about them, complimenting them, ridiculing them, staring at them. And now all she had to do was cover them with a small piece of… whatever it was, andpoof, they were gone. She’d be just like everyone else.
She didn’t pause before snatching the case from Dean. As she carefully put them on, she said, “I never asked about the red eyes. Is it that well-known in Ealis? That only Oracles have them?”
Dean confirmed the question hurriedly, as if he thought Ingrid might change her mind and deny the disguise. “Absolutely. It’s what drove Karis to Earth in the first place. With another war brewing, he knew he’d have to leave. He knew someone would come after him eventually. A thin layer over his eyes wouldn’t change that. He’d lived mostly in seclusion and disguise, but still, people knew. The name Karis was legend in the West.”
“So if anyone sees me? Sees my eyes?” Ingrid trailed off.
“Yes,” was all Dean said, letting the realization sink in.
