“Now?” Vix panted as she followed Melina.

The two women hurried quickly down the dank, dark corridor. Shafts of unnatural blue light slanted from cracks in the stone walls. Vix caught a glimpse of the source; Conjurers, three of them, clustered together like squat, metal-bodied spiders, brilliant beams of blue light spewing from their nozzle-heads. Bobber trailed behind, making curious snorting sounds as it soared through the air.

“Yes, now.” The witch swept forward, ...