She squeezed the trigger of her gun and sent a spray of light in Clair's direction. Clair had already summoned a new weapon, one of those massive violins, a cello. She crouched with the cello in front of her as both Sloan's magic and the beret man's bullet collided. The instrument exploded in a million wooden shards, but Clair was no longer behind it. With a mousey scamper, her slight body dove into the open manhole and disappeared into the darkness.

(Chapter 19)