Confused and afraid, Ric and Josh huddled together near the door, not wanting to leave and yet terrified of Mr. Mendes girlfriend. Both adapted easily to their new forms. Josh, who was the beagle, felt no urge as most dogs do to chase Ric. While afraid, Ric did not desire to get away from Josh.
Inside, Inez looked through the book. Damn! Most of the book was in Latin, and she couldn't read that. She had no desire to try her own spells on Francisco, since they could react badly with whatever the boys had done. Cursing a blue streak, she went to the door and opened it. She looked around, and saw the transformed boys huddling near the door.
She put her hands on her hips and looked at them. "Come inside, you two." she stated. They looked at her. "I know you can understand me. My spell didn't tamper with your brain THAT much." She pointed inside the door. "In!"
Slowly, the two boys walked inside. Inez followed and shut the door.
She faced them. "All right. We are at a standoff. I can't read Latin, and the book is in Latin." She leaned forward. "I will change you back now, but you WILL REVERSE the spell you put on Francisco. Have I made myself clear?"
The pair nodded.
Inez cast another spell. "Shining One, I take back my curse. These know our justice, and will repent." With that, there was a ripple in the air, and Ric and Josh were once again human. They looked around. "Wow." they both said.
Inez grabbed Ric by the back of his shirt and hauled him over to where the book was. "Okay, now, what did you do?"
Ric swallowed and paged through the book. He found the spell. "That one." he pointed to the page.
Inez studied the spell. "Makes sense, I guess." She looked around and pointed at Josh. "You - get Francisco and hold him steady."
Josh found the chimpanzee who had been their guidance counselor very amenable. He picked him up and brought him over to Ric. Josh sat him down, putting his hand on the chimpanzee's shoulder.
Ric carefully read the spell again, and reached out, touched Mr. Mendes with a shaking hand, tracing a rune on his forehead as he said the final words of the spell.
Four long heartbeats went by, then the chimpanzee began to grow. Its hair began to fall out, the face shifted, and in a matter or minutes, Mr. Mendes was once again a human being, albeit naked. He shook himself. he looked around, and saw the boys, and her. "Inez?"
Inez rushed forward and embraced him. "Oh, Francisco, my beloved! Are you all right?" She asked, looking him up and down.
"I'm fine." He surveyed the situation. "What happened?"
"Believe me," she replied, "Its going to be hard to explain."