The Warlock's Gambit by David Alastair Hayden, Pepper Thorn Page B

halfway between his bookcases and the door to the Paladin’s Office. He had noticed it right away, but had decided it could wait until they’d finished the rest of the room. The metal plate was about five feet across, and there were three buttons on the wall above it, numbered 1, 2, and 3. He looked straight up. There was a matching metal square on the ceiling.
    “Morgan, I think this is an elevator.”
    She came over and nodded. “Must be. And it makes sense. You’ve got to have a bed somewhere. And there might as well be multiple levels, since this place insists on annoying me by defying logic. Press 2.”
    Vassalus stepped onto the platform. “Yes, I am quite certain this is a lift.”
    Lexi leapt off the cat tree, sending it rocking back and forth, and raced across the room. “Wait for me!”
    As soon as she scrambled onto the platform, Arthur pressed the button. The metal square above them opened up, and the metal plate they were standing on rose into the air. He wasn’t certain it was entirely safe, since he was pretty sure they could step off at any time. But maybe there were safety precautions … maybe.
    The platform stopped on the second level: his bedroom. It was just as large as the living area below, and the massive bed in the center of the room was larger than his entire bedroom at home. Lexi, still under the influence of the catnip, launched herself onto the bed, pounced the pillows, and rolled around.
    One wall was covered by a crystal waterfall that made a soothing sound as the water cascaded down into a pool lined with rocks. A small desk beside a big fireplace with a bunch of squashy beanbag chairs in front of it took up the wall by the elevator. Another perch for Lexi, a much larger one with multiple levels and a sleeping hammock, filled the opposite wall. There were enormous houseplants and living trees scattered all throughout the room, so it felt like jungle. He guessed they got enough light from ceiling, which was glowing brightly. Six armoires lined the last wall. He opened one and discovered all kinds of clothing, from jeans and t-shirts to tuxedos to strange alien garments.
    “A Paladin and his companions must frequently wear clothing appropriate to the cultures and societies they are visiting,” Lexi said, with that strange look she got on her face when she knew something but didn’t know how she knew it. “If your armoire doesn’t contain what you need already, it will generate it for you.” She shook her head, eyed a pillow, and attacked it.
    Morgan pointed toward a door on the wall across from them. “What’s through there?”
    Arthur shrugged, and they walked into … the bathroom. The shower was enormous, with wall jets and ceiling jets and probably floor jets. The hot tub — it had a hot tub! — was almost the size of a small swimming pool. Other than that, it was all what he’d have expected from the Manse: marble tile and fancy sinks and sparkling mirrors and a toilet that had a row of buttons for … he had no idea what the buttons on the toilet were for.
    Arthur stepped back onto the lift. “Want to check out the third floor?”
    “Boy, you sure do demand a lot, don’t you?” Morgan said as she and the numina joined him. “What else could you need?”
    “Hey, I have almost nothing at home. Maybe I deserve a bit of luxury if I’m going to be risking my life all the time to save the universe.”
    Morgan shrugged. “So what do you think is up here?”
    “No idea.”
    The platform took them up to the third level, and into what was the most amazingly wonderful place he’d ever been before in his life.

Chapter Six
    The Observatory
    A rthur stood there, dumbstruck, scanning his surroundings with tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t even try to hold them back. If Morgan saw him cry now, he wouldn’t be embarrassed — not for this. But she was completely silent and obviously not paying any attention to him; she was, of course, just as overwhelmed as