Mead and Hornsby ignored us as they neared the Camera. They went inside directly as if they had some planned purpose there. Perhaps they were practicing some kind of enchantment that required use of the bones. Juno had also fallen silent as thetwo men reached the Camera, and after a moment he said to me, “Shall we go inside?”
“Oh, I think not,” I said. “Clearly the professors have some business to attend to, and I wouldn’t wish to interrupt.”
Juno smiled. “Professor Mead has come to talk with you, Byron.”
I stared at him. Now this really was odd. Mead had come to talk with me? What about? And if so, why had he ignored me as he arrived? I had never met Mead.
Juno seemed to understand my confusion. “It was me and Hornsby who told him about you, Byron. We recommended you to him.”
Now I felt even more baffled but, it must be said, also flattered. I followed Juno into the Camera and upstairs to the second floor.
Mead and Hornsby were waiting for us. As we entered, Juno went to stand quietly by the wall, and Mead stepped toward the luminous box of bones. “Thank you for joining us, Mr. May,” Mead said. He smiled, and I was unprepared for the slyness, the covetous delight of it. Mead looked as if a purse full of gold coins had been dropped into his lap. “I’m very glad to meet you. Juno and Hornsby have told me all about you.”
I wasn’t sure how to reply; they didn’t know me at all. “I see. I’m glad to meet you also, Professor Mead.”
Mead nodded, still looking very pleased. “Hornsby and I belong to a secret society you may have heard of. The Cisneros Society.”
I nodded. “I have…heard of it.”
Mead continued, “The Society has been in existence since 1666, and since that time it has counted as its members all theenchanters of most renown in our area. While the Society is secret, you would easily recognize the names of many individual enchanters. The work of the Society is to support and cultivate the efforts of its members. This can take many forms, and the objectives are not always achieved through enchantment. Our members also have needs or ambitions in the mundane world, and we help them pursue those ambitions.
“There is also the work of procuring a thew, that most difficult and desired accomplishment of an enchanter, if he does not have a legacy thew. Every full member of the Society must have a thew, and we are able to assist with that process. Younger, less experienced members—Cygnets, as we call them—become full members when they finally acquire one. Most Cygnets are recruited from Commonwealth.” He paused here, seeming to wait for my response.
At this point, I felt a burst of excitement. My initial confusion about how Juno, a mere guard, could be privy to the work of a prestigious society of enchanters faded away to be replaced by a growing expectation that perhaps I was being invited to join this Society. I could hardly believe it! “Thank you, Professor Mead, for your trust in telling me about this secret society.”
Mead smiled. “The Society has many, many tasks it must undertake to serve its members, and I’m grateful to Hornsby and Juno for realizing that you would be ideal for one of them. You will undertake this task, and, in exchange, you will be permitted to continue your studies at Commonwealth.”
I felt a sudden chill. In the seconds of silence that followed, I heard Mead’s words repeated in my mind. Several things that should have been apparent to me sooner now came into view. Full members of the Cisneros Society all had thews, and Hornsby was a member; he must have a thew. Mead had arrived to speakwith me at the Camera, but Hornsby had already gone to get him when I arrived; he had known, somehow, that I was coming. Mead was not offering an invitation; he was revealing a coercion. His last statement made this indisputable. “What do you mean?” I said faintly.
Mead gestured to Juno. “Juno has told us what you really are, Mr. May.”
I followed his gesture and saw Juno, complete with guard’s uniform and blond mustache, disappear. In his place stood a woman, pale and thin, her dark hair undulating in the air around her, her white feet floating a few inches above the floor. She gave me a serene, innocent smile.
“You don’t belong at Commonwealth,” Mead said in a conversational tone, “but if you’d like to continue here, the Society will allow you to do so. I’ve heard from Professor Sanders that you’re the best student he’s had in a decade. It would be a shame to abandon your studies.” He smiled, showing worn, yellow teeth. “The choice is yours.”
Choice? What choice? Remaining at Commonwealth was my only objective. To become an enchanter was my sole purpose. I would have done anything to achieve it; Mead didn’t know that. He didn’t know how much I had already sacrificed, becoming a person I was not, a person I detested, just to learn a practice that would, I knew, make the entire horrid deception worthwhile. If I could be Byron for more than a decade, I could do a few unpleasant tasks for the Cisneros Society.
“What is the work you require?”
“I can’t divulge that here, but it is necessary, important work. The Society can’t function without it.”
This served to confirm my impression. Mead, a university professor, was accustomed to having things done for him. Nodoubt the other enchanters were just like him. A society of men such as him would require a good deal of labor belowstairs, for I couldn’t imagine them making their own fires and setting their own tables. Most likely they wanted assistance with some task that the regular members considered too menial. “And I can continue my studies without being exposed?” I asked.
Mead nodded. “Indeed. Since it seems that is what you most wish.” He paused and considered my silence. “Isn’t it?” He smiled.
It was. And Mead’s reminder cemented my determination. I felt a wave of loathing for Mead and his kind, but my loathing for myself was even greater. How naïve I’d been, to imagine that Mead would distinguishmefor any accolade. Of course he wouldn’t. Well, it didn’t matter. I was no stranger to unpleasant tasks. I would do it, and I would purchase the continuation of my studies. I thought I’d gained the upper hand. I thought I’d scored a bargain.
Professor Mead told me to arrive at the southmost gates of the university that very evening. It was Hornsby who met me, alone. To my surprise, he was much more unbuttoned now that I was playing my role as unwilling servant of the Cisneros Society. Almost as soon as we were settled in the coach—I didn’t know our destination—he began boasting about how many men he and Juno had managed to “catch” in a similar fashion. He didn’t seem to think it possible that I would be aggrieved or offended by this; he spoke of it as a sort of game, which he had won and I had lost—this time. As he prattled on, I realized that this was something Hornsby excelled at: finding and ensnaring students like myself who could be taken advantage of due to their circumstances. He told me with glee about a young man of “middling” background whose fiancée had committed suicide, and he’d beendesperate to conceal the fact. Another man had been born out of wedlock, but his position in society depended on this remaining secret. And a few, like me, were men of other nations who had somehow managed to earn entrance at Commonwealth but only, it was understood, by concealing who they really were.
I had no doubt that the task required of me would be repugnant. Buthowrepugnant? Would it be something I could do by gritting my teeth? Or would it be so reprehensible that I would be unable to bear it?
The drive took more than half an hour. Toward the end of it, the road was rough—half a mile, at least, of driving on a bumpy dirt road. I peered out through the window and could see nothing. Ahead, only woods in the faint light of the coach lanterns. Finally we came to a stop, and Hornsby bounded out of the coach with an eager step. I followed him and looked about, taking stock of our location. Some two hundred yards away, separated from us by a vast lawn, stood a castle. Or at least to me it looked like a castle: a vast, stone edifice with lanterns in the windows and on the turrets. There was a formal pool, rectangular and with a fountain at one end, set in a patio that descended to the lawn with stone steps. The fountain bubbled quietly, and I heard sharp, unhurried footsteps coming toward us along the brick pathway that ran from the house to where we stood. The moon came out then from behind a cloud, and I saw the man who walked toward us, followed by his pale thew. His white forehead gleamed in the moonlight. He had a dark beard and a vest festooned with jewels and ornaments. I couldn’t see his eyes or other features clearly, but I saw the haughtiness of his demeanor, and I had no doubt that the castle was his. It was my first glimpse of Karl Draken, the Embalmer.
When he had reached us, he shook hands with Hornsbyand glanced only briefly at me. “Is he ready?” he asked Hornsby.
Hornsby laughed. “As ready as he’ll ever be.”
The bejeweled man shook his head. “I wish you would do more to ensure their preparation. It only stands to reason that the roper will last longer if he’s trained.”
