“Stop thinking of people in terms of the manual chop-chop method,” Nic retorted. “You saw her MP scorecard.”

“I’m still not good at deciphering those things.”

Nic decided that meant he’d barely glanced at it. “She’s very strong in Ariel magic, much more so than I am. Her magic will be useful to have when attempting control an unknown rampaging beast.”

“Even if she’s not a wizard?”

“Even so. Think of yourself as a warrior pulling the correct weapon to hand. Sometimes you need a sword. Sometimes you need a long bow.”

“I don’t know how to use a long bow,” he muttered.

“A crossbow, then. Any idiot can use one of those.”

“Happy to be the idiot you require.”

She didn’t retort as they’d reached the end of the long hall. The door was sealed, as reported. Nic was aware of Alise and Asa watching closely as Gabriel manifested a new silver key out of moonlight. He was getting faster and more efficient, barely drawing on her magic. She suspected he wouldn’t have used her magic at all if he weren’t concerned about what they’d find within—and what he’d have to do to stop it.

“Brace yourselves,” he told them brusquely.

As soon as the door opened, noise flooded out, along with a wave of algae-smelling water. Their small group of rescuers shouted and shrieked in surprise—all except for Gabriel, who stood splay-legged and strong, supporting her against the current. He’d no doubt felt the water on the other side of the door. They would have to discuss how implementing greater detail into his warnings would be more useful.

She wondered why Gabriel hadn’t used his magic to contain the water, but it quickly became clear that the waves were periodic, with a new one rushing toward them from the pit. This one Gabriel stopped, parting the wave with a raised hand and sending it curving back to the pit. With the recession of the flood, several people within the room flopped to the stone floor like so many stranded fish, gasping and scrabbling to get up. One man seemed to be bleeding copiously from multiple… bite wounds? If so, from very large teeth. Jadren stood atop a tall workbench, not dry, but apparently uninjured, employing some sort of artifact that looked to be a shield with moving spikes.

Another woman faced the pit, summoning some kind of magic to deal with an immense tentacle waving from the pit. Another tentacle shot out of the water, slamming down where she’d been a moment before she rolled away. Fanglike spikes screeched as they dragged against the stone floor. Nic grabbed Gabriel’s upper arm with her free hand, digging in. “Don’t kill it,” she urged.

His wizard-black eyes glittered like knife-edged obsidian as he glanced at her. “I don’t plan to. You! Get back from the pit.”

The woman flashed a pale, startled look at them but obeyed, scrabbling back. As soon as she did, the water all around rose in a column, creating a clear pillar all the way to the dim ceiling towering overhead, the tentacles flailing within but unable to penetrate, as if walled in by thick glass. Nic had seen this trick of Gabriel’s before, but the others gasped in wonder. It was truly a sight to behold, the creature rising within as if captured for their observation.