I entered the coffee shop and placed myself on the stool next to Dan at the counter, then arranged my legs before purring, “Oh, is this seat taken?”

He turned to look at me, raised his eyebrows, then grinned. “Now it is.”

So far, this was going according to plan. Too bad I didn’t have a plan for after I caught his attention. I couldn’t break the spell in public, and I couldn’t think of a non-suspicious way to get him in private without him assuming I was some kind of hooker.

I ordered a cup of coffee, then said, “You look familiar. Have I seen you around?”

“I think I’d have remembered that,” he said, giving me an appreciative glance up and down my illusion’s body. I wondered if the illusion was blushing as much as I felt I was. “But I wouldn’t mind getting to know you.” He held his hand out to me. “I’m Dan.”

I took his hand and shook it. “Victoria,” I said, using the first name that came to mind to go with this illusion. “I still think you look familiar. You don’t have a bicycle, do you?” I asked. “For some reason, I’m picturing you as a bicycle messenger.”

He laughed. “No, I don’t think so.” Then he frowned, like he might have been trying to remember whether he had a bike.

“Or how about a security guard?” I asked, emphasizing the word “security.”

He was still frowning, and his eyes had gone unfocused, so I felt like I was close, but I didn’t know much else about him. He shook his head. “Nope, not that, either. What about you? What do you do?”

“Oh, I just work in an office, and my boss is a real gargoyle.” That didn’t seem to have any impact at all. Subtle might not work. The spell wouldn’t be very effective if it could be broken just by words related to a person’s real life coming up in conversation. I needed to find a way to put it all together in the right context, but that was going to be hard to do in public. It would probably also work better coming from someone he’d seen in the real world. He might be willing to chat with “Victoria” as a total stranger, but it would probably take Katie to break the spell. Unfortunately, I didn’t dare drop an illusion in front of everyone, and I didn’t have the technique or control to specify who did or didn’t see an illusion, so I couldn’t reveal myself to just Dan.

I resorted to chatting as flirtatiously as I could manage, and then asked, “Have you had dinner yet? I was going to go to this wonderful Italian place in my building. I usually get takeout, but I hate to eat alone. Wanna join me?” Katie wasn’t the sort of girl who’d ask a total stranger out to dinner, but necessity meant Victoria was. I hoped Dan might be the kind of guy who’d at least be intrigued.

He raised his eyebrows and studied me for a moment, then grinned and said, “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever been picked up like that before. Do you promise that the food’s good? I’m really picky about Italian.”

“It’s the best, I swear.” I sensed a vibe of mild discomfort, so I hurried to add, “And we can go dutch. It doesn’t have to be a date. Just having dinner at the same table.”

Smiling, he nodded and said, “Okay, you’re on.”

We paid for our coffee, and I took his arm to lead him out of the café. I caught Owen’s eye as we passed and shook my head slightly, warning him to keep his distance. We turned onto a side street and walked by the building where I’d put on my illusion. When we reached that spot, I pulled Dan into the niche and instantly dropped the illusion.

“What is this? What’s going on?” Dan protested, trying to back away from me. “Are you mugging me? And who are you? Where did Victoria go?”

Figuring I had nothing to lose and very little time before he started shouting loudly enough to draw attention, I snapped, “Your undercover identity is as a bicycle messenger and you worked with the gargoyles to foil an elf attack.” It might not have been a particularly vivid memory for him, but at the very least I thought it should provide a significant level of cognitive dissonance. With any luck, when combined with my presence, it would do the trick.

He swayed for a moment. He blinked, then his eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. A moment later, as it apparently all caught up to him, he went deathly pale. He lurched forward, grabbed the lapels of my jacket and blurted, “We have to stop him! He’s bringing through an army!”

Chapter Sixteen

I grabbed his arms and said, “Are you kidding?” It probably wasn’t the best way to treat a guy who’d just snapped out of a spell, but I couldn’t help myself. A little more calmly, I asked, “Is that what he’s using the portal for, to bring an army from the elven realms to our world?”