“That doesn’t mean anything,” Gavin said. He hadn’t seen it when he’d gone through the first time—or he hadn’t paid any attention to it.
“A locked cupboard in the middle of all of this? You don’t think that means anything?”
“It wasn’t in his sorcerer’s lair.”
“Maybe it’s not anything magical,” Gaspar said.
There was nothing particularly unique about it, except that it was locked where the other cupboards were not. Gavin tested it by pulling on it.
Gaspar laughed. “If it was unlocked, I would’ve pulled it open. I think you have to do something to it.”
“I have to do something? You’re the thief. At least, you’re a thief now.”
Gaspar shot him a side-eyed stare. “Is it going to be like that?”
“It’s not like anything. I recognize there’s a story you’re not telling me. I figure you’ll get to it in your own time.”
“No time,” Gaspar said. “Especially since we both got our secrets.”
“Yours deals with what you went through here. I think your history as a constable makes a difference.”
“Not anymore. What I was has no bearing on anything we have to do.”
“I think knowing that you had history with the constables has some bearing. Actually, given what we’ve seen, I think it has considerable bearing.” Gavin stepped back from the cupboard. “Just open it already.”
“You don’t think that I’ve tried that?”
“Not really. I’ve seen you pick locks before.”
“I’ve already tried to pick this lock,” Gaspar said. “It’s your turn.”
Rather than continuing to argue, Gavin stepped forward. He held the El’aras dagger out. It started to glow.
“What did I say?” Gaspar said.
“That’s enough.”
“It has magic. I thought it might.”
“You only thought it might because you weren’t able to open it,” Gavin said.
“That’s reason enough.”
Gavin jammed the dagger into the cupboard. The blade flashed briefly, and the cupboard popped open.
Gaspar pushed past him, smiling tightly. “See? What did I say?”
“It’s not that I did anything. It’s more the El’aras blade that did it.”
“You go ahead and tell yourself that all you want.”
Gavin looked over Gaspar’s shoulder, trying to see what was inside the cupboard. There were bottles of powder. Gavin reached over Gaspar and ignored as Gaspar swatted at his hand, trying to slap him away.
“Why would he keep these locked in here?” Gaspar asked.
“Because they’re dangerous. Or valuable,” Gavin said.
He could think of several reasons why these powders would’ve been locked up. He thought back to when he’d visited Cyran here and what he’d seen then. Cyran had made a tea.
Had he been standing by this counter?
“Grab them,” Gavin said.
“We don’t know what they are,” Gaspar said.
“We don’t, but I think we need to take them with us. If they were important to Cyran, then they might be important to us.”
Gaspar studied him for a moment before shrugging and grabbing the vials. He stuffed them into his pocket and then looked around. “I don’t see anything else here.”
“I don’t either. We can go down to the lair, but I don’t know what we’re going to find there.” Other than the artifacts that were there, though that depended upon them knowing what to use them for.
Gavin led him to the back room and pulled the trapdoor open. He paused in front of it and looked down the ladder. The dagger didn’t glow. Perhaps that should’ve reassured him, but after what he’d experienced when he’d been down here before…
He sheathed the El’aras dagger and unsheathed the sword, holding it at the ready.
Gaspar looked over at him, frowning. “Do you think you’re going to need that?”
“Who knows, but I want to be prepared for the chance she might be here. This is the only thing that worked against her.”
Gavin headed down the ladder and paused, swinging the sword out in front of him. He waited for it to glow, but no light came from its blade, so he didn’t have to be as concerned about any potential attacker coming at him. He lingered there a moment but didn’t see anything more.
Gaspar followed. “What is this?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“The rubble here.”
“That’s the ceiling.” Gavin pointed to the collapsed ceiling overhead. “She tried to crush me.”
“I can’t even imagine what you did to get through here.”
“I used the sword.”
Gaspar frowned again, staring at the blade. “I think you and I are going to have to talk about this lack of magic you have.”
Gavin chuckled. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
If it was magic, then he would have to learn how to control it. It wouldn’t be sorcery, which involved techniques and spells and other sorts of power that Gavin simply didn’t have. Whatever he called on through the core reserves he possessed was different, something intrinsic to him, which was different than how sorcerers called magic, and even more different than how enchanters placed magic onto items. If only he had an opportunity to talk to somebody he could trust.
Maybe even somebody he couldn’t trust.
Anna might help, but that involved calling her through the enchantment she’d given him. So far, he’d been reluctant to do so, mostly because he didn’t know how she’d react if he were to use it.
Gaspar shook his head. “You keep saying that you don’t have any magic, but…”
Gavin paused, tracing his hand over one of the stones. He grabbed one the of rocks by the side and grunted as he tried to lift it. He finally abandoned it.
They climbed over the debris in the small passageway until they reached the door at the end of the tunnel. Gavin rested his hand on it and pulled upon that energy within him. He summoned that reserve of power the way he had before, and he yanked on the door. It came surging open.
This time, Gavin could feel exactly what he did. There was something within him that exploded, some source of power, and it combined with whatever energy was on the door to enable him to open it. He stared
