“Aye. Here we go.” Magpie touched the spell to Talon’s shoulder and when he stepped into the darkness he drifted slowly downward. His moth wings fanned the air, guiding his drift, while Magpie hovered beside him and Calypso heaved overhead. They descended. A small ring of spelled light clung to them, but it made the darkness below all the blacker. The plumes of magic wafting up the well shaft were stronger than they had been the first time Magpie had come, and the air was hot and acrid as bad breath.

Magpie glanced at Talon and saw his face was white. “You sure you want to come?” she whispered, at which he looked irritated, and some color came back into his cheeks.

“Aye,” he said. “Why? You scared?”

“Sure. Only a fool doesn’t fear. But it’ll be okay . . . ,” she said, and mumbled as an afterthought, “I’m almost sure of it.”

Down below, the Magruwen could hear their whispers as clearly as he could smell their bouquet of scents. Crow and cheroot, a breath of berries just eaten, and a curious whisper of nightspink that reminded him of the imps who used to bring Bellatrix’s messages from the next world. He also detected the faint musk of that other imp, the Blackbringer’s stooge, and wondered what business the lass had with such a dismal creature.

His pacing had worn a track through the treasure, and the smoke had taken on the motion of a tide, surging with him as he strode. He stopped now, an inferno contained by nothing but will, and faced the door.

“He wasn’t wearing a skin before,” Magpie whispered to Talon when their feet touched down, “so be careful for your eyes.” She pushed the door open and called out, “Lord Magruwen?” as she stepped into the cave. “It’s Magpie Windwitch, Lord. I hope it’s okay—”

The Magruwen swept toward her. She felt his great restless energy and saw he had grown still brighter than when she had sparked him awake. His flames whipped in a frenzy within his rough shape and she could scarcely look at him. He was pulsing, frenetic, thinly contained. Here was the Djinn King at full strength, and he was terrifying.

“You should have come years ago,” he hissed. “You must learn to see before you wreak more havoc.”

“Havoc?” Magpie blinked in surprise, but before she could say any more the Magruwen sucked her toward him in a funnel of heat and then flared wide, whipping himself into a vortex around her and sealing her from sight.

“ ’Pie!” Calypso squawked, charging forward. The ends of his feathers sizzled against the wall of fire and he had to hop back. He couldn’t see through it. He tried to fly around it. There was no opening. Magpie had been enveloped. Frantic, Calypso called out to her.