At once, Nicola felt a strange sensation around the base of her spine, as her shoes started to ache beneath her. She turned to see a thin pink tail ending in a sharp-looking barb, which she took in her hands, only to let go upon feeling a strange radiation, as though touching herself more intimately. She looked up to see that James was solid white marble, changed too quickly to show any reaction.
Now in a blind panic, Nicola looked around to see a mirror by some "enchanted" costumes that she now realized were almost certainly genuine. She began to dart over, her heels bursting from her shoes with her first step. A strange ache in her ankles kept her from walking normally, forcing her to tiptoe to the mirror - when she got there she saw why.
Her feet were three times the length they'd been, her toes fused together into a single huge hoof, but that wasn't the first thing that caught her eye. Rather, the first thing she noticed was that all her skin was bright pink, and this was clearer than it should be because her clothes were quickly rotting, their tattered remains raining down from her skin. Finally, two great pink goat horns grew from above her temples, but that seemed almost trivial now. She took several unsteady steps back on her new hooves until she felt a pair of hands on her back and heard Meredith's voice.
"Be careful. You wouldn't want to break anything else, now, would you?"
Only just now seeing Meredith's image in the mirror, Nicola turned with a start and fell flat on her arse. Not sure how she'd even try to get back up without feet, Nicola propped herself up to look at Meredith.
"Can... can you turn us back?" asked Nicola.
"Certainly! Of course, you'd have to pay for it. Or rather, someone would have to - once we're done, you're barred, obviously. You'll probably be something else by the time we're done, anyway."
"And... and James?"
"I'll hold him for restoration until the door moves again, then put him up for sale. There's a market for statues with human souls, even dumpy males - I should be able to get a few grand easily."
"Couldn't I just pay for his restoration now?" Nicola asked with a glance to her purse, now lying on the floor, its strap rotted through.
"In theory, but only if you'd brought £500 in cash or precious metals, which I know you haven't done. Now, hurry up - we've got a lot of unmarked potions to test, and now only one of you to do it."