Zeran pushed his brother to the side, then he tucked his chin against his chest, his eyes narrowed. Random objects in the room started to shake and fly toward each other. A pile of chairs, lamps, paintings, vases, and other furniture stacked itself in the center of the room. Zeran’s power was similar to his brother’s, but it manifested by using objects around him. It was the same as what happened at the garbage dump when we fought Captain Nulan. The pile melted together, taking shape into a beast. Black Mamba leaped on top of the half-melted furniture and flung herself at Zeran. She slammed into him, knocking him to the floor. The various pieces of furniture that had formed his monster fell apart.

“No,” Billu screamed, and his Darkzilla began to unravel. Billu raced toward his brother, but Black Mamba backhanded him across the face and sent him flying across the room.

All of this happened in seconds, and I was half in shock. I had to snap out of it. We weren’t about to die in the middle of the bayou. My friend was in trouble, and I was still struggling to get out of the cocoon. I concentrated on my staff at my feet. “A little help, please,” I begged, but a gush of wind came through the window and rolled the staff farther away.

I thought about our lesson with Oshun. Rule number one: rely on your natural abilities. I’d sparred against Winston without my staff and almost lost control of my magic. I couldn’t afford to make that mistake again. Not with so much on the line.

I looked on in horror as Zeran swung his remaining prod at Black Mamba. The electric current from the weapon buzzed, but she was too quick and stayed out of his reach. Suddenly, she began to change into the lumbering thing I saw in her shadows—a creature with speckled gray skin and tufts of black hair across her back. This was her true form. When she was in her most dangerous state. She swept her claw through the air and cut Zeran’s prod in half. He rolled out of the way in time to miss her next blow.

It was now or never. I had to trust myself to use my magic without my staff. I concentrated on opening a gateway beneath my feet, and soon I was falling. I bit back a scream as the god symbols spun around me in a frenzy. I was careening toward a bottomless pit. I had to regain control.