Brianna felt it. “Don’t you go getting sick, Henry!” After a few precious seconds of silence she mumbled, “Oh man. I sound just like Mom. I’ll shut up now.”

Coralis walked ahead of them, moving with speed and urgency. Molly, who’d closed up shop for the day, caught up to Henry and huddled a motherly arm around his shoulder. “We’re almost there. But pull your hood closer to your face. You’re glowing like a firefly.”

They approached a door marked 41½. It was in the center of a row of buildings that had obviously not seen repairs since the day they were built. Several vagrants gathered in a tight group around the rusted gate that barred the entrance. They turned to say something to Coralis but thought better of it and hastily retreated down the block.

A slight smile pinched at Henry’s lips. He had only just met the Wand Master, but already he could imagine what Coralis might have said, or the look he might have given, to make them leave so quickly.

The gate opened easily despite the rust, and Coralis led them down a short flight of stairs to a formidable door covered in graffiti. A sudden gust of wind doused them with another bucket of rain. “Bahtzen bizzle! Confounded elements!”

Brianna giggled, which prompted a glower from Coralis before he set to work, deactivating a locking mechanism similar to that at the tavern. They all stepped into a pitch-black foyer. “Remove your jacket, young man. It seems your condition will be useful after all.”

Henry did as he was told, but also thought to retrieve his wand, increasing his skin wattage.

“Ah! Now you’re thinking!” Coralis said lightheartedly.

Henry grinned at the compliment.

They proceeded down a long hallway, where they came upon yet another door. “There are sure enough locked doors around here,” Brianna said, voicing exactly what Henry was thinking. “Hope there’s a treasure chest waiting for us.”

“Yes, and it contains a muzzle for small animals,” snapped Coralis.

Brianna fluffed her bristles, which poked through Henry’s shirt.

“Ouch! Easy, Brianna.”

“Sorry. He’s such a grump.”

Henry listened carefully to the verbal code that unlocked the door. It appeared to be the same for each door, and he thought that if he heard it again he might be able to commit it to memory. But there were no more doors, only stairs—again. Henry began to wonder if the entire world of Wandmakers was underground.

Brianna poked her nose out. “Where are we? It smells like … something rotten.”

Henry had started to pick up the odor as well—mold, mildew, decay.

“Mind your manners, young lady,” Coralis scolded. “Have some respect for the dead.”

“We are in a cemetery,” Molly explained before Coralis could say more.