“No,” I said, not missing a beat with my pen.

Another bang. Kelela backed into the wall behind us. “Are you sure?”

“It only has the strength of any old hyena, and these doors are solid wood.” I said it to shut her up so I could concentrate, but hopefully it was enough to assure her, too. Because I didn’t know. Maybe demon hyenas were stronger than normal ones. Saba was stronger than any human, after all—but no. No. After all that courage I’d breathed in, I couldn’t go filling myself with doubt now.

I saw Saba move toward the door from the corner of my eye and glanced up. She looked sick. Her nose and brow were creased in a grimace, like she tasted blood. I pressed my back against the door as she reached her hand toward the doorknob.

“I know it’s commanding you, Saba,” I said. “But you have to fight the urge to obey.”

She shook her head, tears forming in her eyes and breaking away to roll down her face as the hyena slammed against the door again.

“Run down the hall and sit on your hands. Get away from here.”

It was a fragile solution, but it was all I could think of with most of my brainpower consumed by getting this amulet right. Why did I let her stay? Because I had the same concern as Kelela—that the hyena might break through the door. But now my greatest fear was Saba releasing it too soon. Magnus had said she had no choice but to obey the Evil Eye. This wasn’t something she could fight against for much longer. And I still needed at least fifty minutes before the amulet to lock the monster away was complete.

Saba hugged herself tightly and turned away, heading down the hall before stumbling to a stop. From the corner of my eye I saw her standing there, bent over herself, unable to go further either way.

Another minute of strokes down. Accurate, but I wished I was as fast as Jember. Because now I needed this amulet done sooner. I didn’t have an hour. Saba didn’t have an hour. The door certainly didn’t, if it kept—

Another slam, this time with a dull crack of wood, and Saba came toward me.

“It’ll all be over soon,” I wanted to assure her. “You won’t have to obey the Evil Eye ever again after tonight—” But her hand was turning the knob and I only had time to stumble in front of Kelela before a mass of black shadow rushed at me. It slammed into my shield, darted to get around it. I backed up, herding Kelela back with me, despite her screaming in my ears.

Saba grabbed the hyena by its haunches and dragged it backward.