Red Hood's Revenge

grabbed the tear beneath her chin and pulled upward. She pushed the head higher, and her own face appeared through the gap in the neck.
    Roudette gasped, and with that breath, the wolf appeared to collapse, becoming nothing but a skin once more. Still panting, Roudette pushed herself to her knees and reversed the cape. She shook out the worst of the dust before tying it back over her shoulders.
    “You’re going to melt in that thing,” Snow said, throwing her the waterskin.
    “So I’ve noticed.” Roudette’s lips twisted in what could charitably be considered a smile. “If I’m not wearing it, we lose the benefit of its magic. Your fairy friends will be on us before you can cast a single spell.”
    “Where did it come from?” Snow asked. “I’ve heard of animal skins enchanted to change the wearer’s form, but the other powers—”
    “You can thank the church for that.” Roudette’s eyes flashed. “The elders insisted that all children wear the red cape.” She brushed her fingers over the runes embroidered along the edge. “Human magic was forbidden, much as it is here. The runes are fairy magic, designed to suppress any magical talent. After I took the wolfskin from my grandmother, I hired a witch to alter the runes on my own cape, turning the fairies’ power outward. Combining the cape and the skin gave me the power I needed to fight them.”
    “Human and fairy magic combined into a single artifact,” Snow said. Talia could see how badly she wanted to take Roudette’s cape away for study, but she restrained herself.
    Danielle had moved away, following a small brown lizard. The lizard vanished into a crack in the rocks, and Danielle laughed. “I’m sorry, but my friends and I need something larger.”
    “How long will it take to reverse Jhukha’s curse and change her back?” Talia asked.
    “That depends.” Snow rubbed her hands, which were already beginning to pink from the sun.
    Talia returned to the saddlebags, hoping Naheer had thought to pack proper desert wear. She soon dug out a brown linen robe and a matching head scarf. She tossed the former to Snow, then helped her with the scarf, tucking both ends in the back Kha’iida style so it covered all but the eyes.
    “It won’t be easy,” Snow said. “I don’t even know what Jhukha was, let alone what kind of power it might have.”
    “She was a Jinniyah,” said Roudette. “Seducers of the soul. Rare, but powerful.”
    “She?” Snow repeated.
    Roudette stared. “Jhukha was female. You didn’t notice?”
    “I’ve never seen one before.” Snow rolled her eyes. “I saw a picture once, but it’s hard to make out the anatomical details of a creature that’s little more than a smudge of smoke and darkness.”
    “How long?” Talia repeated.
    “Hours. Maybe days.” Snow looked away. “Jinniyah have little power of their own. They’re slaves, taking magic from their masters. The greater the magic, the stronger the master’s control.”
    “If you’re right about Zestan, that means Faziya was cursed by deev magic,” Roudette said.
    “You changed a priest into a mouse,” Talia said. “If you can do that—”
    “I could reshape Faziya’s body.” Snow grabbed the waterskin back from Roudette, pulled down her scarf, and took another drink. “You’d be left with a woman who has the mind and memories of a terrified jackal. Let me talk to Trittibar.”
    Talia walked away. She knew it was unfair to expect Snow to wave her hands and return Faziya to her, but it didn’t matter.
    “I think I might have found something,” Danielle said, following a fox with oversized ears. The fox raced into the hills, then ran back to Danielle. “He wants me to follow.”
    “Go,” said Talia. “Take Snow and Faziya. You’ve got food and water in your saddlebags. Once you find shelter, have Snow do what she can.”
    Danielle turned back. “What about you?”
    Talia clasped her hands together. Her knuckles were white. “I’ve no intention of sitting around helpless in my own land.”
    “You’re not helpless,” Danielle said.
    Talia pointed at Faziya. “I can’t do anything for her. All I could do is watch and wait. I’m bad at waiting.”
    “I understand.” Damn her, but she probably did, too. Danielle was like that.
    “What are you going to do?”
    Talia adjusted her sword. “Make sure Snow isn’t interrupted.”
     
    “You should have killed Rajil.” Sweat dripped down Roudette’s face as she and Talia hiked