“They made us go back and deliver a bunch of food,” Gary said, “on account of having blown-up their flour mill.”

“What did I just say about jumping to the end?” Rufus asked. “So, we set out for the eastern reaches, and the mission seemed plagued from the start. One of the heidels went lame in the middle of nowhere, and none of us were healers. That was when we found out that heidels don’t respond well to healing potions…”

113. You Need to Work on Making Enemies

113

You Need to Work on Making Enemies

The cloud palace was not only the largest magic construction in Greenstone but it was also the most sophisticated. This was demonstrable in ways large and small, from its ability to take multiple forms to the amenities incorporated throughout the structure.

In Belinda and Sophie’s guest suite, there were several cooler cabinets, each with a front of translucent mist. Belinda went to the one specifically for non-alcoholic beverages and reached directly through the veil, her hand feeling the chill. She retrieved a frosty pitcher of fruit punch and took it back to the terrace table where she and Sophie had been spending their idle days.

“This is so strange,” she said, sitting down in a meltingly soft patio chair made of blue and white mist. “Did you ever expect to experience something like this?”

“No,” Sophie said, taking the pitcher and pouring out drinks into crystal tumblers. “It scares me.”

“You’re wondering that if it’s this good now, how wrong will it go later?”

“I am. I don’t know what game Asano is playing or how he intends to use us.”

“It can’t be worse than handing us over to Silva or that Magic Society guy,” Belinda said. “Look around. The director of the Adventure Society doesn’t dare come get us. If this is the company Asano is keeping, what does he care about Silva or even the local Magic Society? What would he possibly need us for?”

“Lots of things. None of which are good for us.”

“Jory thinks Asano is doing this to help us,” Belinda said.

“You don’t seriously believe that?”

“I believe that he believes it. So does Clive.”

After Asano and Bahadir had departed, Clive had periodically appeared to visit Belinda, the two spending hours going over the various tools and tricks she employed in her career as a professional thief. They also toured the cloud palace and its myriad wonders. The palace was enormous, with multiple wings in all directions, connected to a central building by cloud pathways. The palace was unaffected by floating on the exposed water, with neither wind nor wave causing so much as a shudder.