Plenty walked as quickly as possible, given Gwen’s short legs. Their journey was simple enough. The Pillar was visible from anywhere in Lower Garden. A massive, sparkling landmark, it towered over everything and touched the clouds, casting a long shadow over Lower Garden like it were a giant sundial.

  Gwen ran to keep up, often shielding her eyes and holding the trail of his jacket in a gloved fist, blindly following him.

  He knew she must be uncomfortable and anxious, but the sooner they arrived, the sooner she could relax in the shade, so he pressed on. He didn’t stop to eat, no matter how much his stomach groaned. Gwen was probably thirsty, too. If she could suffer it, so could he.

  They speed-walked through two districts; one district was built of giant trees, like Arbor District, but this district contained a vast multitude of animals Plenty had never seen before; the next district was covered in vast fields of flowers, vibrant, meticulously maintained, and buzzing with life. They hurried past countless pilgrims on the main way. Out among the fields, a woman sang to a sapling, and as she sang, the sapling grew and bloomed into a gorgeous rose bush.

  It was late in the afternoon when they left the Flower District. The air was sweltering. The district around the Pillar was a flat, grand open market. Countless people were buzzing around like bees in a hive. At the base of The Pillar, several stately buildings stood, erected in diamond. Now that he was close enough to get a good look at it, Plenty realized the Pillar was made entirely of diamond. It refracted sunlight into prismatic rainbows, turning everything everywhere around it into a stunning light show.

  Plenty put his hand on Gwen’s head and felt remorse for her. The sunlight was too intense, so she was hiding her eyes in the hem of his jacket, and thus, unable to witness what a beautiful place this was in the daylight.

  Plenty looked around until he found a kindly-looking elderly woman. He asked her where Admissions was, and she pointed to one of the stately-looking buildings at the base of the Pillar. Plenty thanked the woman and led Gwen to the Admissions building, lifting her and carrying her up the stairs. He whispered that they’d arrived, knowing her earworm would translate his words into thoughts she could hear.

  The inside of Admissions was only slightly less brilliant with sunlight than the outside. As he looked around, Plenty noticed not all the walls were transparent. Some accent areas were translucent, colorful shades of diamond. The rooftop/ceiling was a hazy shade of magenta. But still, Gwen had to hide her eyes.

  He couldn’t read, so Plenty asked the nearest kindly-looking person for instruction, and then he got in line behind about twenty other people. The line moved fairly fast, and soon Plenty stood in front of a desk, behind which sat an uptight-looking woman with a very bold hairdo. On the floor and just behind her, a ram with large horns watched them approach.

  “Do you have an appointment?” she asked Plenty with an air of impatience.

  Plenty blinked. “I-I don’t, no.”

  She sighed. “What brings you in today?”

  “It’s my daughter. She’s a very gifted mage. I was hoping the college might admit her.”

  She stood up to look closer at Gwen, but because Gwen was entirely covered up, the woman just looked back at Plenty with immense pity and some curiosity. She looked at their clothes and tsk’ed her teeth. Then she sat back down and pretended to be patient.

  “Might I ask why your daughter is wrapped up like a broken arm in a cast?”

  “She needs accommodations. She’s severely allergic to sunlight.”

  The woman shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid the college doesn’t accept cripples. Please step aside.”

  Plenty wasn’t ready to give up yet. “No, they’ll take her. Watch and see. Gwen? Do the thing.”

  Gwen quickly peeked a view of the room, then she hid her eyes again. Immediately, all the light in the room began to shimmer, shake, and bend. In an instant, all the light in the room was bent to swirl majestically above the woman’s desk.

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  She watched, awe-struck. Then she shut her mouth and turned to her ram familiar and said, “Contact the Holy Mother. Ask if she has time today to meet a potential new student.” She turned back to Plenty to say, “The Holy Mother is very busy, as you can imagine. Her responses can take some time. Please step over here. When I receive word, I’ll call you back over.”

  Plenty thanked the woman and stepped out of line, as instructed. There was a small waiting area with wooden chairs, but Plenty was too anxious to sit, so he stood with Gwen, one hand on her shoulder, like two sentinels. They didn’t wait long before the woman behind the desk waved them back over.

  “The Holy Mother gives you permission to visit the college grounds, for today only. You are to wait in the grand foyer. Do not wander. The Holy Mother will retrieve you when her schedule allows.”

  “Thank you again,” said Plenty. “But how do we get up there?”

  The woman behind the desk wrote something on a slip of paper and then handed the slip to him, with the instructions, “Go through that door, and give this to the person working the Gates desk.”

  Plenty took the slip of paper and walked through the door she had indicated. They entered a long hall with several signs above the many doors on either side. Plenty still couldn’t read the signs, so he opened the first door on the left, found the nearest person, and asked for directions to the Gates desk. But either the directions were bad or Plenty misheard them, because he evidently entered the wrong door again and got a stern reprimand from a severe-looking elderly man. Finally, and without too much trouble, Plenty found the door to the Gates room, and the man sitting behind a desk that Plenty assumed must be Gates.

  “Uh, hello,” he offered the man the slip of paper. “Is this the right place?”

  A bright green frog familiar rested on the man’s shoulder. His expression was placid and inscrutable as he read the slip, and then examined Plenty and the fully-covered form of Gwen. He ignored Plenty’s question, turning his head to the frog on his shoulder and saying, “Bring Brett in here.”

  The frog croaked a response, then the man turned to Plenty again to say, “You can sit and wait over there. Brett will be in soon to take you up.”

  Plenty wasn’t sure who Brett was or how he was going to take them up, but he said, “Thank you,” again, all the same, and then stepped aside to stand and wait, again.

  It was some time before the man named Brett arrived. He looked young and full of confidence, tall, with an athletic build and a full head of blonde hair, which he tossed with immaculate flair as he entered the room, asking the frog man, “So, who are we moving today?”

  The man with the frog familiar gestured toward Plenty, and then Brett strolled over to him to shake his hand.

  “How’s your day going?” Brett asked amiably.

  “Um, good, I think,” Plenty said. “Though I should probably confess, I’m new to Garden City, and I’ve never been to Upper Garden before. I have no idea how one gets up there.”

  “Well, I’m how one gets up there.” Brett smiled and revealed a wide row of perfectly straight, white teeth. “At least, I’m one of several ways up there. Eagles are for special occasions. The mirror gates have been out of service for many years, so Movers like me are in hot demand these days.”

  “You’re a Mover? Is that one of the Premier families?”

  “Oh, look at you! Already learning the locals. Yes, the Mover family is one of the great institutions in Garden City. We are pretty indispensable.” He shrugged in a charming yet smug way. “But enough about me. I understand I’m supposed to take you to the College. That right?”

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  Brett started walking, so Plenty walked alongside him. “Well, that shouldn’t be too difficult, but I’ll have to take you one at a time, alright?”

  “Uh, I think that should be fine. Will it take long?”

  “Oh, no. It’ll be almost instantaneous. I’ll be there and right back to pick you up.” Brett opened a door on the side of the room and took them into a smaller room with dozens of weapons embedded in the wall.

  He led the along the wall until he came to a long spear. Then Brett turned to Plenty and said, “I can bring another person with me, but I have to lift them up. I can’t bring someone else if their feet are resting on the ground. Carrying your daughter up will be very easy. You’re a pretty big guy, so that’ll require a bit more finesse.”

  Plenty nodded like he understood. “Okay, so you’ll take Gwen up there and then return to bring me up? How will we get back down?”

  “The Featherfall estate usually handles descents. Don’t worry, this is all very boilerplate. You’ll see. Shall we go now?”

  Plenty looked down at Gwen. Her covered head gave a nod.

  “Okay,” he said. “You first.”

  Gwen stepped forward, and Brett said, “I’m going to pick you up, alright? It’ll just be for a moment.”

  Brett squatted, put his hands under Gwen’s armpits, lifted her gently up off the ground, and onto his hip. Then Brett reached to grab something in the air, and they both disappeared with a faint ‘pop’ sound.

  Then Plenty waited, as he’d done for much of the day already. He waited and waited. He paced and waited, and the longer he waited, the more certain he was: Brett was not coming back, and Gwen was in terrible danger.