‘Why did you steal Cassandra?’ asked Raphael suddenly.
‘Why did I steal Cassandra? Because I wanted a daughter, a human child to live with me.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ said Raphael rudely. ‘I don’t believe you ever wanted a daughter.’
Soon after this they stopped in front of a high wall with a gate of bronze. The Sorcerer got out and Raphael followed him. Spinning a dial set in one of the bronze panels, the Sorcerer opened the door and nodded to Raphael to enter.
‘I change the combination every day,’ he said dryly. ‘I shouldn’t bother to learn it, if I were you.’
They passed through the gate into the brightest garden Raphael had ever seen. Millions of flowers grew in great beds, laid out in squares. The walks were broad and made of asphalt. In the distance the boy could make out a little pond. Overshadowing this garden of red and yellow and green, Raphael saw a huge round tower of gray brick.
‘This is where I live,’ said the Sorcerer. ‘Cassandra lives with me.’
‘Is Cassie here?’ asked Raphael eagerly.
‘Oh, Cassandra,’ called the Sorcerer.
At his summons a little girl dressed in white walked slowly from the other side of a large bush in one corner of the garden.