Making a sound of frustration, he gazed over his shoulder at Finn. "Magician, you need to disguise this truck."
Finn looked surprised that the Endless Knight was addressing him. Adjusting the bird to see Aric better, he said, "Zara will still be able to detect the heat from the engine."
"Conceal that too."
The falcon gave a low cry, as if to say, "Listen."
"Uh, I only create illusions. Like pictures, you know? I ride the pine for the big stuff."
As though the words were pulled from him, Aric said, "You're a magician. You wield magic. Work a cloaking spell to make us truly undetectable. Not an illusion."
Finn perked up. "For real? I can do that?"
"You can, and you must. I don't know the exact incantation, but it started with the words . . ." Aric recited something that sounded Latin-y.
I had no clue what he'd said, but Finn tensed, as if jolted by Joules's electricity. "Dude. I've dreamed that."
"It means: I command and conjure. Begin the invocation, imagine what you want to happen, and the rest should follow."
Finn's illusions distorted reality for others, but not necessarily for the people he worked his magic on. We would still look the same. The truck would. "How will we know if he's done it?"
Aric met my gaze. "If we make it past Fortune alive."
Finn repeated Aric's words, then looked shocked when more mysterious commands followed. His breath blurred as he spoke his Magician's language. He started to sweat.
"That's it," Aric said. "Concentrate."
Finn's body quaked; the falcon fluttered.
The little hairs on my nape rose. Something was happening. Magic seemed to swirl all around us. Joules and Gabriel shared a look. They'd felt it too.
After another minute or two of speaking, Finn paused. "I feel like I completed a spell, or something. Could be that a white rabbit's appearing in a black hat somewhere on earth." With a grimace, he added, "But whatever spell I worked, I'm definitely fueling it."
Though we had no idea if he'd produced an illusion, much less a total concealment, Aric eased the truck toward the end of the tunnel--and straight into Zara's spotlight beam.
From here, we could see the copter up close.
"She has one missile left," Gabriel murmured.
"What's your plan?" I whispered to Aric.
"To drive under her."
I hissed, "There's not enough room!" The moon roof was still open; I didn't know if I wanted to see how close it would be.
The spotlight was blinding as we emerged from the mountain. If Finn's power wavered . . . if Zara floated lower . . .
Aric inched toward the helicopter.
Then under it.
We all craned our heads up, holding our breath. . . .
Joules muttered, "Jaysus, the skids are too close."
If the copter descended by a hair, it'd meet the racks on the truck roof.
"Faster, Reaper," Joules grated. "Get us bloody out of here."
"Quiet. Faster means more heat and sound; I won't increase either." Though everything in me clamored to flee, cool Aric continued gliding forward. A few feet more . . . almost there . . .
Clear! A chorus of exhaled breaths.
Finn shook, dripping sweat. "Guys, I-I don't know how much more I've got in me."
"Just a little longer, Magician," Aric said.
We'd driven about half a mile away when Zara floated higher--and launched her last missile.
The tunnel imploded, collapsing half the mountain, the impact shaking the truck even at this distance.
Almost to himself, Aric said, "Such a mistake, Fortune." Then he told Finn, "We're almost concealed behind another mountain. If you can maintain the spell till then, they'll assume we're trapped in that rubble, slowly dying."
Though Finn looked like he was about to pass out, he gave a pained nod.
As we curved around a bend, Gabriel said, "Look back to the left. That is the road we were on, heading toward that bridge."
I followed his gaze to a mangled suspension bridge. "It's been out for a while." It reminded me of the one I'd leapt off to escape Death. Joules, Gabriel, Tess, and I had battled Aric and Ogen. How long ago that seemed. Talk about a new tune. . . .
Aric slid me a look. "If we hadn't followed where the Sun led us, we would be dead." To Finn, he added, "We're clear."
Finn's exhalation must've lasted a minute.
I cast him a grin. "You're one badass Magician."
"Thanks, blondie." Clammy and pale, he weakly smiled. "And thanks, Death, for the recipe. That was real. And it was fun. But it wasn't real fun."
Joules slapped the back of Aric's seat. "Oi, you cut that close. You got bloody nerves of steel, Reaper, I'll give you that."
Gabriel added, "Well played, Death."
I nodded. "I never would've had the discipline to ease under that helicopter."
Aric caught my gaze. "I never would have had the faith to trust the Sun."
All of us had contributed powers tonight--except for me--but my belief in Sol had helped save us.
We'd gone a few miles when I spotted another Bagman. This one stood beside the road with his thumb out like a hitchhiker.
Aric raised his brows at me.
I whimpered. Jack??? Is that you? He sounded so close.
Blood kept pouring. My breaths shallowed till I was hyperventilating, on the verge of blacking out. But I was desperate to hear more of his voice. Jack, please answer me!
White-noise answered me.
Please, please, PLEASE--
My eyes rolled back in my head.