It felt remarkably natural to be walking hand in hand through downtown Bell City with Tahir. Since he still hadn’t had any luck finding the missing armlet, he wanted to explore the city in an attempt to detect its magical aura. My knowledge of the city would be helpful if he managed to find a trail to follow, so he asked me to accompany him.

I was thrilled that he was allowing me to help, even if it wasn’t much. It was driving me crazy to sit on the sidelines, knowing ...