The noise carried on for another minute or two. Kori sat in the middle of it with her head resting on the table, and the red in her face finally started coming down — slowly, painfully slowly.
Then the volume dropped. Somebody laughed one last time, someone sighed one last time then everything stopped. Esen's face came out of the cushion.
And in that small gap filled with silence, he said said:
"Okay, but hold on."
He was frowning at the couch.
"Hikari. What was that thing you did to the spring?"
Hikari scooted sideways until her shoulder was against Raizen's, then folded her hands in her lap, which was as close as she could get to leaving the room without standing up. He nudged her with his elbow and tipped his head at the others, and after a moment she let out a breath and unfolded her hands.
"It's not that complicated," she said. "The basic part isn't."
"Start smaller," Keahi said. "Start at 'you blew a spring out of a couch without your staff or any amplification'"
