“Actually, I don’t recall you saying a single thing in explanation,” Taraana corrects her.

Paheli glares at him.

“So? What do you have to say for yourself?” Valentina asks, a quivering tone in her voice.

“I’m sorry. Sometimes I need to act in ways that don’t make sense and aren’t very sensible. I will attempt to do better.” This is the first time we have heard Paheli say something like this, and our eyebrows are so high, they might break through the stratosphere and reach space.

“Apologize a hundred more times and I’ll consider forgiving you,” Valentina replies with a sharp smile.

Instead of responding to her, Paheli walks over to where Daraja’s backpack is, opens it, and grabs the bag containing the small rectangular boxes that house the pendants along with their chains. She takes one out and pops the box open. The semiprecious stone in the center of the pendant glints dully in the light. Paheli holds the pendant in her hands and nothing happens. It really looks like a piece of unmagical jewelry.

“So, we can be sure that human conjuries are dangerous to middle worlders; otherwise they wouldn’t be as conscientious about cleaning them up as they are. In fact, not only do they clear up places selling the conjuries, but they also kill the humans who make them. While we know they consider it dangerous, we don’t know what they do to middle worlders for sure.” Paheli rubs her chin and glances at Taraana. “We’ve got Assi’s word for it, but we need more than that. So, to figure things out clearly, let’s see what a conjury does to a Between diamond.”

Talei places a Between diamond on a coffee table in the middle of a living room next to the rec room we were in. Then Paheli balances the unawakened pendant on the Between diamond. We take five steps away from the table, but nothing happens.

Taraana takes a breath, closes his eyes, and says the word that’s supposed to awaken the conjury.

Five seconds later, the pendant starts glowing purple, and the Between diamond starts melting. In five more seconds, all that remains of the diamond is a puddle, and that too disappears shortly.

Ligaya whistles through her teeth. “That was intense.”

“Now I know why middle worlders take human conjury so seriously,” Areum says, shivering.

“Okay. I am pleased,” Paheli says. “Now all we need to do is get Baarish to hold one of these pendants, activate it while he’s holding it, and bang!” Her eyes are shining with a bloodthirsty light.

We stare at her.

“What?” she asks.

“He’ll die if he holds an activated pendant,” Talei says flatly.

“That’s the point.” Paheli looks at us, the lightness flitting from her face. “Isn’t it?”