I felt a sudden, dizzying push, like someone shoving on the inside of my skull. It was a new and very unpleasant experience, and the next time I knew anything, I was back on Gertie’s stairs. Goddamnit!

“You’re not going back there,” Grace said, because she was back, too.

She had a hand on my arm that I hadn’t noticed, which was probably how she’d ended up getting pulled in with me. Mircea had said it himself: touch heightened his abilities. I pried it off.

“If I don’t, they’ll get themselves killed,” I said, gripping onto the quickly dissipating thread of Mircea’s consciousness. It was trying to unravel as I held onto it, but no, I thought savagely. No, you don’t! Because right now, I have your abilities, too, don’t I?

I mentally tightened my fist, looped the thread around it a couple of times for good measure, and jerked.

And suddenly I was back in the cave again, just in time to see the giant squid go crazy.

“I thought you said you could control it!” Pritkin was yelling, as the thing flopped and gurgled and writhed across the floor.

“Did I say that?” Mircea asked, his eyes a little wide.

“You damned well did!”

“I said I would provide a distraction. They are distracted,” Mircea pointed out, as the spells that had been aimed at the goat were now turned on the squid—and us.

“Auggghhh!” Grace screamed.

I turned to find her right behind me, with her hand on my shoulder, just as several spell bolts tore through our bodies. They did no damage that I could see, however. Just felt a little tingly.

So, okay then, I thought, that’s good. Right about the time that I saw Pritkin make a run for the goat. Shit!

He’d grabbed two handfuls of potion bombs out of the inner pockets of his greatcoat, and now he threw them ahead of him. They must have been every one he had, because they totally obscured the scene, in bursts of red, dark blue and black smoke. And left me glad that I wasn’t actually there when the mages started choking and hacking and throwing up.

A few with more presence of mind began wind spells, trying to disperse the smoke, which worked pretty well, since there was a high ceiling for it to flow into. But I still couldn’t see anything. And then I did, as the clouds began to thin, and really wished I didn’t.

“Pritkin!”