Mika yelped and reeled backwards as a sensation akin to an electrical jolt flared through his body. Darbie watched wide-eyed, Larys still on his shoulder, but managed to keep ahold of the desperately-struggling Aubrey.
"Dammit, the magic got stronger," Mika muttered, wringing his hands due to the numbness. Mika frowned, then shrugged. Reaching inside a pouch, Mika pulled out the strange paste he had used on Ed earlier. "Hold his head," Mika ordered Darbie, who cautiously complied. Carefully, Mika gently drew a few runes on Aubrey's forehead between the boy's eyes. Aubrey abruptly stopped struggling, then blinked.
"What the blazes...Mika, why the hell did you change me back?" Aubrey sputtered. Mika sighed in relief; at least Audrey's consciousness was still intact.
"It wasn't me," Mika replied, standing up. "I warned you not to use that stone. The excess black magic from changing all those undead into lizards must have rebounded and caused the spell on you to reassert itself."
"What do you mean, 'reassert'? I thought you broke the spell!" Aubrey snapped.
"I told you, I'm not strong enough to break black magic like that," Mika replied, dusting himself off. "All I did was give us a way out, the same way I did for Ed's consciousness earlier and yours right now. Because of the sigil's protection, I could include our bodies in the reversion, but the spell was always still hanging around us. Right now the dark magic is too strong for me to do it again."
"You mean I'm stuck like this?!!" Aubrey yelled.
"Probably only for a while, I think," Mika pondered. "It's because there was so much black magic around that the spell got stronger, but it should fade over time. I might even be able to change you back by tomorrow morning."
Aubrey cursed vehemently, then turned his head to the side to look up at Darbie. "You can get off now," Aubrey snarled through gritted teeth. Darbie gave Mika a questioning look, but when Mika nodded, let Aubrey clamber to his feet.
"Here," Mika said, tossing Aubrey a shirt and pants from his pack. "My frame is smaller than yours, so these might fit better than your clothes."
Aubrey wrinkled his freckled nose. "I'm gonna go wash off first; for some reason this damn body always smells like manure," he said sourly, then headed off to the nearby stream.
It was nearly dark, with no moon out yet, so Mika dropped some of the firewood Darbie had collected earlier into a pile and started a fire. Picking up a branch to use as a torch, he headed off to look for Ed and the mule, who were not to be seen, leaving Darbie and Larys sitting by the fire. A ways out into the field, Mika finally saw the large forms of Ed and the mule, huddled together trembling. The mule was rather skittish, and Ed was so shaken he permitted the mule to press against him without protest. Leading the two silently back to the fire, Mika happened to notice how dirty and disheveled Darbie looked. It was only natural, since the boy had been living on the road for the past week. After tying off the mule, Mika went over and crouched beside the lad.
"Listen Darbie, why don't you let Larys stay with me a while, and you can go wash off at the stream with Audrey. Even if she looks like that, she's pretty good when it comes to spotting danger, so you'll be safe with her around," Mika said soothingly.