Arina called up the situation instantly. A gust of fiery wind swept out in all directions, more as a distraction than a real attempt to delay the Inquisitors. Then I saw Arina smiling, standing in the middle of the ring of fire in a man’s trousers and jacket that were too large for her. With painful slowness, it seemed to me, although it could hardly have taken more than a second, Arina pulled a wallet—my wallet!—out of the jacket’s inside pocket and opened it. The flash stick jumped out onto her palm . . . and Arina disappeared. The wallet hung in the air for a moment, like in a cartoon film, and then fell.

Arina had probably been clutching the Minoan Sphere in her left hand the whole time.

I lowered my eyes to examine myself.

Yes, the long skirt and turquoise blouse had looked better on Arina than on me. And what was worse, her clothes were obviously too small for me and were already coming apart at the seams.

“Halt!” barked one of the Inquisitors when I leaned down to get my wallet.

“Mr. Anton Gorodetsky offered resistance to the criminal and is not guilty in any way,” Fan said quickly. “There should be no charges against him!”

Perhaps Fan possessed incontrovertible authority, or perhaps the Inquisitors were simply obsessed by dreams of catching Arina—but in any case all five or six of them disappeared into the portals that had opened up again.

“It’s useless,” I said, clutching the wallet in my hand. “A Minoan Sphere can’t be traced. There’ll be an entire tree of false trails branching out to eternity.”

“They are obliged to try,” Fan said politely. “It is their job. Can I help with your clothes?”

“I’ll manage,” I said, frowning. “I’ll apply a false appearance, and I have spare clothes at the hotel.”

“A very elegant spell,” Fan said. “I simply can’t imagine for what purpose it was created.”

“Arina’s a great joker,” I said, sitting down and pouring myself some tea. “The old crone—she tricked me after all . . .”

“But she left you your documents and money.”

“What’s true is true,” I agreed. “She always did have style. But that flash stick . . .”

Fan spread his hands helplessly. The shield that he had pumped full of Power, which made the Taiwanese look slightly hazy, was slowly dissolving into the Twilight.

“What are you going to do now?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ll probably finish my tea, go back to the hotel, and get changed. And then I’m going home.”

Part Three - Dubious Doings

Part Three

Dubious Doings

Prologue

Prologue

ANTON GORODETSKY WAS WATCHING TV.