"Zodia. An ancient goddess some believe first taught magic to mortal kin. We use her symbolically, not as an idol. Though some of us have come to believe," he explained. He put his hand in the creature's mouth and flinched slightly. As he withdrew his hand, some mechanism clanked to life, and the floor began to slide down.
Sucking the drop of blood from one fingertip, he said, "Just a small test of the blood to safeguard this location from the uninvited."