“So grown up!” Jade said, far too amused. “Still seven years younger than you, of course—”

“No, stop it—”

“But he’ll finally be old enough to vote. That must make you happy, right, soldier?”

“Not another word.”

Chapter Three

They snuck back to the falls the following night, Arthur, Jade, and Zhang in his physical body, outfitted with raincoats and flashlights. The power and thunder of the water falling under the moonlight put goose bumps on Arthur’s skin.

The elevator at street level at the top of the falls was, of course, closed for the night. Zhang kept watch for security as Arthur picked the padlock. Jade, whose telekinesis was precise enough she could start a car engine, managed the lift’s controls as the three of them descended 125 feet to the base of the falls.

“There is a hydropower tunnel,” she said, as they stepped out of the lift onto the viewing platform. “But I think we want to stay as close to the water as possible. I’m not sure how far the veil of power will extend.”

Arthur looked up the falls, a silvery sheen that extended up toward the sky. “Zhang was able to get his projection at least partway into the tunnels earlier.”

“But the moon is in play now,” said Jade. “And we’re hoping it’s strengthened the magic-dampening effect.”

“It has.” Zhang’s eyes were closed. “I can only go as far as the door.”

Jade rubbed her hands. “That’s promising.”

Zhang opened his eyes, nodding. “There may be deeper parts of the tunnels where magic still works, but I can’t get to them. Let’s aim for the window that overlooks the falls.”

The pomander was in its heavy lead box, tucked in Arthur’s coat pocket. He hadn’t forgotten what it was like when it was out of its box, the terrible scent that had choked his throat and made him retch. He wasn’t looking forward to opening it again. “Well, we should know fairly quickly if the falls’ dampening effect works on the pomander,” he said grimly, “because this relic reeks.”

The lock on the door to the tunnels gave way easily enough to Arthur’s lock picks. There wasn’t anything to steal, after all; the locks were only a safety measure designed to keep out daredevils and thrill seekers.

They turned on their flashlights and stepped inside, the gray rock shiny and wet in the beams. Arthur hadn’t been here since childhood, and the new tunnel built last year was longer than the old one he vaguely remembered from the tour his family had taken. It was strangely quiet in the deepest parts of the tunnels, the pounding water distant.