Water droplets emerged from the blue circles drawn across Serena’s palms. Heavy as thick raindrops during an intense thunderstorm but delicate as dewdrops gracing the petals of azaleas. The water condensed, turning into a roiling gray mist, so thick Serena could no longer see her fingers through them. The fog doubled, and then tripled in volume, surrounding her like a veil.
“Are you ready, Serena?” Mira’s smile was nervous and strained. It was taking all her energy to breathe life into the huge magic circle before her.
“Let’s do this, Mira.” Serena nodded.
She showered the mist onto the sand below, allowing it to multiply and cover the entire floor of the grotto. Christophe whipped around just as he got a faceful of fog. Behind him, Takeru and Kakane retreated to the edge of the walls. Soon, the grotto was nothing more than a sitting place for a giant, puffy cloud. Within the cloud, movement could be seen. When Serena peered closely, she saw a pole swinging wildly. How cautious the Shining Lion was. It wouldn’t matter.
“Alrighty! Here’s Mira’s super-special, totally-awesome, ceti-sized illusion spell! Let’s see how you like this, buster!”
Light clustered at the tip of Mira’s finger within the circle. It exploded—so bright Serena had to look away—into a huge beam aimed straight for the sands below. Its figure warped and blacked, quickly turning into a maw with serrated teeth long as bananas. Smoke curled from the scales above its jaws and its eyes glistened with predatory hunger. The fog evaporated upon contact with the beast, who extended its wings to the sky and lunged.