The members in the temple answered him as one. With a crook of a smile, I answered as well. “Sic fiat.”
So be it!
Mathers gave his orders, and the disorganized mess of the Golden Dawn membership seemed to meld together into an entity with a single mind. Practitioners pulled supplies out of hidden niches and prepared the circle while Jones escorted us back outside the temple doors. He took a tile from the wall to reveal another hidden niche and produced two sets of plain white robes.
“Wear naught but these and the golden cord tied around your waist,” Jones instructed as he passed them to us.
“Do you mean for us to change here?” I asked, glancing at Elaine.
“You’ll find no changing rooms within the temple, and you cannot leave until we finish. Consider this a chance to get to know each other better.” Jones chuckled and headed back into the temple, closing the doors behind him.
“Never seen a naked woman before?” Elaine asked with a cheeky smile as she unfastened her dress.
“I just thought to protect your propriety, madam,” I replied, stripping off my coat and undoing the buttons of my waistcoat.
“To hell with propriety.” She shrugged out of her dress and it fell to the ground with the clank of hidden blades.
I studied her as I removed my shirt. Scars crisscrossed her torso and legs, and one rather nasty one ran diagonally between her breasts. I daresay half our military saw less combat during their careers than this woman, and though I hadn’t imagined her so muscular when undressed, I found it rather appealing.
She leaned over and pulled a belt of throwing knives from the folds of her dress and strapped it to her thigh. To the other, she fixed a long knife, Nepalese from the forward curve. A blade made for slicing throats. She unsheathed a throwing knife before donning her robe and used it to cut a small slit into each side to give her access to her blades. Clever.
“I finished my performance. You can get dressed now,” Elaine said with a smirk.
I blinked, realizing I only half removed my shirt before I stopped to watch. “Couldn’t help myself, love. Art deserves appreciation, after all.” I grinned back and stripped down. “Apologies that I can’t provide as much entertainment.”
“Oh, you provide plenty,” she said, her eyes tracing my skin.
“Then by all means, enjoy yourself.” I gave her a wink and a wiggle that made her laugh. I didn’t possess Elaine’s muscle tone, but my fondness of mountaineering left me fit, at least. I finished tying the golden cord around my waist when Jones opened the doors once more.
“All set?” he said, looking us over.
“I suppose,” I said, glancing at Elaine. She nodded.
“Right then, single file, Miss Simpson in front. Stop when you get to the circle. We shall open it for each of you in turn.” He gestured for us to follow him. “Off we go.”
He led us into the temple, across the marble floor, and toward the circle. Within it stood the remainder of the Order, silent and watchful. The flap of our bare feet and the soft flutter of the braziers the only sounds in the temple. The flames cast the Order in stark shadow, deepening the darkness within their cowls. It lent them a mysterious, mystical air, but when I opened my Sight, I still saw no trace of magic. I didn’t know whether that boded well, or ill.
We stopped at the edge of the circle.
No one moved or spoke.
Jones stepped forward and, from the sleeve of his robe, removed a small ceremonial dagger. He crouched and thrust the blade through the air over the edge of the circle as if slicing into a man and stood. Gently, he brought the dagger up and over in the shape of an archway until he touched the blade to the floor on the other side. He stepped back and gestured Elaine through. She nodded and passed into the circle’s interior. He gestured for me to follow, and I entered through the implied opening. Once inside, Jones repeated the process in reverse, re-sealing the circle. It impressed me they knew the proper form to open and close a working circle. Through the entire process though, not a single drop of magic sparked. The circle remained inert and unkindled.
Once Jones guided us to our places, Mathers leapt onto the raised dais around the altar. Everyone’s eyes snapped to him, and he threw his hands wide, smiling at the gathered.
“Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming our newest members to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,” he proclaimed. Applause and cheers broke the silence.
Magic flared white hot across my skin.
The circle kindled and snapped shut.
11
The Web
Quick as thought, I slammed open the first gate. Power flooded into me as I set my wards into place and tensed, waiting for an attack. It never came. After a few moments, I eased just a bit. I still felt the touch of magic but saw nothing in my Second Sight. Perhaps I imagined it.
No, I felt it, too. Vex’s presence sat heavy at the forefront of my mind.
Do you know where it came from?
No, and I see no trace of it either.
If Vex couldn’t see it, this practitioner possessed considerable skill.
I searched the circle for the caster and cursed. At least one hundred stood in the temple. I couldn’t watch so many alone. Not without a spell, and I didn’t wish to risk it until I knew my enemy’s location. I glanced at Elaine, whose eyes flicked from one hooded figure to another. At least I had assistance.
Mathers’s speech ended. He held a golden goblet and one of the gathered approached, an exaggerated sway in her hips. Mathers passed her the goblet and filled it from a wineskin he produced from beneath
