Coralis had returned to Henry’s side. With a light touch to his shoulder he held the boy fast as the glow rippled beneath their feet. A tingling sensation traveled up Henry’s leg, and when it reached his heart, a feeling of euphoria engulfed him. His earlier trepidation was replaced with a giddy sense of joy.

When the ripple met the walls, Henry laughed aloud. Inch by inch, the walls and everything on them wavered like a mirage before disappearing. But it didn’t stop. The ceiling disappeared as well.

The glow, once again circular, closed in upon itself until it was the size of a quarter, then a dime, then the tiniest pinprick of light that popped out of existence. The bone stopped spinning and sagged like an exhausted runner.

They were left standing at the entrance to an awesome cavern, the size of which should not have been possible so close to the surface. Henry did not recall seeing a mountain behind the restaurant, yet the enormous cavern could only exist within one.

“That would explain the green.” Coralis’s voice echoed. “The wand I used was a Revealer. It can be used only once.” And before the echo stopped, the wand crumbled to dust. “Did you sense anything before I used it, Henry?”

He nodded. “I felt there was more here than I could see … but I never expected something like this.” His voice cracked as if parched.

“How is this possible?” asked Grandma Gailene.

Coralis examined her with curiosity. “They haven’t confided in you, have they? They sent you as the messenger, but didn’t tell you why.”

“I am not as gifted as my daughter,” she replied softly. “And those who have skills like the men and women of your Wandmakers’ Guild—those with the power to call upon the very Earth—are extremely rare. Even among full-blooded Diné.”

“What does that mean?” asked Brianna from Henry’s hand. “What is Diné?” She pronounced it Din-eh, as her grandmother had.

“It is the name of our people before we were known as Navajo. The Navajo Nation was once the Dinétah.”

“Come.” A deep voice rumbled through the cavern. In that one word, Henry could feel something that had been dormant and ancient come to life within his chest. With his free hand, he gripped the wand in his pocket and felt a warmth that comforted him.

“Come,” the voice said again, but this time another word was fed directly into Henry’s mind. “Welcome.”