“Who are you and what are you doing here?” A lamp swung out of the darkness, flaring orange in my eyesight. I squinted.

“It’s Jovis – or don’t you recognize me now the posters have all been taken down?”

The blade withdrew. “We weren’t expecting you.” The man holding the blade peered at me suspiciously.

“Ask Gio,” I said. “He sent for me.”

He gave me another long look, as though I were an ox he wasn’t sure he wanted to buy. “I’ll take you to him then.”

Not what I’d wanted. “Yes, of course, lead on.”

As soon as he’d turned, I took a step swiftly toward him and wrapped an arm around his neck. I hadn’t had the time to learn much when I’d been with Gio, but I remembered this. I applied just the right amount of pressure, and within a few moments, the man was passed out on the floor.

Mephi wove around my legs. “Not very nice,” he said.

“Oh, he’ll be fine,” I told him. “You don’t seem to worry very much when I spear a few fish. That’s not nice either, is it?” I picked up the lamp from the ground and made my way further into the caves. The walls smoothed out a little farther in, becoming more like hallways than tunnels. I’d have to hurry even more; that fellow would wake up quickly and I still had to make it back for dinner.

The hallway I’d wandered into the last time I’d been here was still dark and empty. It stretched long, the walls blank. I put a hand against the cold stone, trailing my fingers along the passage.

“The door was here,” Mephi said, stopped in front of a blank section of wall.

“I remember.” I pivoted and tapped my staff against the opposite wall. I wasn’t sure, but I thought it sounded different. I pressed my palm to the stone. What had I done last time to make the door open? I’d been angry, about to shake the foundations of the caves. And then I’d pulled back at the last minute, sending only the barest trickle of magic into the wall.

I wasn’t good at precision. But I’d have to do my best. I concentrated, feeling the trembling build in my bones. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mephi crouch, his ears flattened, eyes on the ceiling.

Controlling the flow of power was like trying to dam a river with my hands. No wonder Mephi looked skeptical. I felt a surge flow through my arm and then managed, at the last moment, to slow it. And then I pulled back before I could bring the cliffs down on our heads.

Something clicked open.