Lucian took a deep breath. And once he did the true meaning of his words began to sink in. His face turned pale. It was clear he had captured his father’s attention, but it was not in the way he had wanted to.

“Uh…nothing!” he stuttered. “Forget it, father. I didn’t mean it,”

Henry’s somber expression did not change, for it was clear that what had been said was snow set forever in stone. “Is there something you’re keeping from me, Lucian?” he said as his expression and voice became darker and more serious. “For if there is, do not take me for a fool and hide it!” he said with his voice being a mixture of sadness and anger.

Lucian’s mind raced, he did not want to argue with his father, but at the same time he knew the clock was ticking. “It’s nothing, father. I swear! I just simply wish to go and see Luin right now,”

Heny took a deep breath and sighed whilst looking at the ground. He then gave Lucian a side eyed glance as he thought. “Please, father,” Lucian pleaded in one last desperate attempt. Henry once again looked at the ground and sighed. Henry then took out his pocket watch and glance at it. It was clear that the weight of their limited time rested heavy on his shoulders. He then put the watch back and looked off into the distance before finally facing Lucian again.

“You have ten minutes,” he said in a subdued and deeply serious voice, as though he was both sad and disappointed in himself. “So make haste and do what you wish,”

Lucian did not wait for him to say another word. He quickly began walking towards the stares whilst avoiding looking at his father’s sorrowful face. “Perhaps I am just another spoke in my father’s wheel,” he heard Henry whisper to himself as his voice slowly faded amidst the echoes of the hallway. But Lucian had no time to dwell on his father’s words, for his attention was fully directed towards getting to Luin’s room.

He entered the lobby and darted for the stairs. But as he approached them he saw Lidian leaning against the banister, his expression displaying nothing but pure boredom. His face only lit up once he saw Lucian approach him.

“Are you and father done already?” he whined impatiently. “Can we go now?”

“Well father will take you. I have, somewhere to go,” he said in a calm and positive manner. Lidian’s face dimmed and he frowned at his brother with a look of betrayal. “What? You can’t go. I need you to sit next to me in the car! I can’t sit next to Lucy and Lily! They’ll partner up on me!”

“Oh don’t complain! I’ll still come back before we leave,” Lucian said with a grin. Lidian however, wasn’t a convinced. “Can’t I just come with you? Where do you have to go that’s so important?”

“Just don’t worry,” said Lucian finding it exhausting to keep up his feigned positivity. He intensified his exaggerated demeanor and patted Lidian on the shoulder. “Do not fret, dear brother. For I swear I shall return!” he said with the voice of a mythic hero.

Lidian’s frown lessened. He then sighed and stepped aside. “Thanks, Lid,” he said with a gleeful smile as he hastily climbed up the stairs leaving Lidian by the banister with an expression of longing on his face.

Lucian marches his way to the fourth floor. By the time he reached the hallway, he was practically running. As he jogged across down the hallway he heard a small sound coming from behind him. It sounded like creaking wood and footsteps. Lucian assumed it was the sound of his own feet echoing through the walls so he paid it no attention. As he approached Luin’s room he saw one of Benjamin’s shoulders peeking out from the door and into the hallway, he could even see Maurice the raven perched atop it.

“I’m here,” he said running over to Benjamin and tapping him on his other shoulder. He then nudged past him whist staying as far away from Maurice as possible. He went into the room only to pause before he could take more than two steps. For inside, he saw that everyone had already arrived. He saw the Hatlys, the Mornings and the Morrows sitting on Luin’s bed, Joe sat on a chair by a window looking out onto the street while the rest of them all stood close to the walls. Even Lily seemed to have arrived before Lucian as he saw her standing next to Benjamin, looking off into the other side of the room with frustration.

“I am late.” Lucian thought to himself as he quietly shuffled his way into being between Lily and Benjamin, who closed the bedroom door once Lucian had made his way inside. Lucian then looked over towards Luin, who was kneeling on top of his desk with his hands running up and down a large bookcase.

“What’s happening?” asked Lucian watching with confusion as Luin hastily took out and opened each book before putting it back.

“Luin appears to have lost the note. He can’t seem to find it anywhere,” said Lily in a slow and bored tone. “What?” asked Lucian in a surprised voice.

“Don’t fret yet. I’ll find it!” said Luin with panic and embarrassment in his voice. “I swear I put it between my book about Fire Puppets and The Adventures of Bucklesworth Finstein!”

He frantically took out both of the books he mentioned before reaching his hand into the empty space, He shifted his hand from side to side in a frustrated fury. His face then brightened when he seemed to catch ahold of something.

“I think I got it!” he exclaimed proudly as he pulled out a piece of folded paper. He unfolded it before getting down from his desk and sitting on the small cushioned chair next to it. The rest of the room all their heads slowly towards Luin as he stared into the paper.

“Well, what does it say?” asked Alice.

Luin cleared his throat. “Traitors among us. Spying for the Order. Mayor’s death foiled. Planning insurrection. Suspecting the Guilds. Retreat to Safety,”

The room went silent. But Luin wasn’t done. “It says its signed by someone called ‘Julius’”.

There was a pause. Perhaps everyone had expected Luin to say something more. But he didn’t. “Is that it?” asked Charlotte. Luin shifted his eyes back and forth I confusion. “Ummm…yes?” he asked in a high-pitched voice.

Whispering and murmuring followed, as it was clear that no one in the room seemed to know what to think about brief and somewhat disappointing message. “Well this tells us nothing!” said James. “You dragged us all the way here for this?”

“Well it does tell us something,” said Charles. “The Circle has been compromised! The Mayor from Lucian’s newspaper isn’t dead! There is a grand conspiracy afoot in the Circle!”

“Yes, but none of those statements really aid us at this very moment now do they?” said Evelyn. Charles paused. “But with the Mayor’s death foiled, that would mean the Order of Man is involved. Perhaps they might be threat that the Morrows have been warning us against!” suggested Arthur. There was a collective murmur and an exchange of fearful glances among the group.

“And who is this ‘Julius’?” asked Benjamin chiming in, for the thought of Hunters appearing at their door was not a thought any of them wished to entertain.

“That is also something we have yet to answer,” said Luin. “Well, I don’t recall our parents every mentioning anyone by the name of Julius,” said Willow. “Ha. Since when have any of our parents discussed anything about the Circle in front of us?” Joe argued. “That is the entirely the reason why we are all here,”

“Well whoever this Julius person is, they clearly have to important; one does not simply send a letter to the Great Houses,”

Lucian watched as the others argued. But in his mind only one thing kept echoing. “The Circle has been compromised…” the words filled him with a sense of deep fear. Was the ‘worst outcome’ coming from the Circle itself? “Planning insurrection…,” he remembered hearing. Was the insurrection the worst outcome and not the Order of Man as they had previously assumed? If so, was it about to happen now?

As the others argued Lily, who had stayed quiet up until that point, spoke up. “What if it’s not a real name?” she said loudly in order to get the attention of all the others.

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All heads turned to her, “What do you mean?” asked Benjamin, raising his eyebrow curiously. “I meant what if ‘Julius’ is a made-up name. Concealing the name of some else?”

“A CODENAME!” Luin exclaimed. “Of course! How typical, in every book I’ve ever read about the spies have always used a codename. It’s a clever but cliché strategy,”

“Well then that only makes it harder. Since now it could be anyone with a high ranking role in the Circle,” said Willow. Luin paused and put his hand on his chin, deep in thought.

Willow then took out her pocket watch and glanced at it before putting it back in. “Well, at this rate we are no closer to answering any questions and as much I would like dwell on this for an eternity I think it’s time we head back to the cars,”

“No doubt our parents are incredibly suspicious, I know mother is,” said Lily nudging Lucian’s hand. “Admittedly my excuse wasn’t the best. I told her I had to change my hat because this one giving me some ‘trouble’,”

“What does that mean?” sad Lucian with a grin. Lily shrugged, “I don’t know,”

“Well I could say the same, father gave me just ten minutes,” said Lucian. Benjamin overheard him and let out a chuckle. “How lucky, my sister gave Maurice and I only five,”

Their light conversation then seemed to set off another wave of chatter across the room. But it barely lasted more than a few seconds before Willow cleared her throat loudly, causing the silence to return. “Now then,” she said with an excited grin. She then walked over to Lucian and reached into her coat. Then from one of her pockets she pulled out a golden pocket watch that looked similar to hers. “I think now may be a good a time as ever to give you our presents,” she said before holding the watch up to Lucian’s face.

“What?” Lucian said almost instinctively as he was completely taken by surprise. He lightly nudged the watch away with his finger. “What presents?”

“Well you must take it. It is a tradition. At least, according to my aunt it is. The closest peers of a new initiate may provide them with gifts as gesture of good faith and good luck,”

Lucian slowly took the watch into his palm and examined it. It had engravings that ran around the cloak face, branch-like patterns that were all connected by a letter M, a letter that was marked four times in the four corners of the watch.

“It’s a special edition made only for those we deem worthy,” said Willow in a dramatically. “My father gave your father one just like it,”

“Uh…Thank you!” said Lucian with a nervous smile, still not entirely sure of what to make of the situation. He looked over to Charles, who smiled and nodded. “It can be very useful!” he said hastily, feeling as though he needed to say something. “If you ever happen to find yourself in a vision you can always look at it and know. Clock hands never move in any vision,” Lucian did not know how to respond to that information thus he smiled slightly in response and nodded back, which appeared to satisfy Charles.

“Anyone else have anything for the newly initiated?” asked Willow from the group. At first, there was nothing, but then to Lucian’s continued surprise Benjamin raised his hand. All eyes turned to him as he too reached into his pocket and pulled out a quill made from long back raven feather. Maurice let out a screech as Benjamin proceeded to give the quill to Lucian.

“Here. I was planning to give you this right before we got into the cars but it seems Morrow took all the glory of being the first gift giver,” he said whilst glancing at Willow, who replied to it by staring smugly at Benjmain. “It’s made from one of Maurice’s own feathers. He was very generous in providing it as well!” Benjamin said. Maurice however seemed to disagree, for he pecked and screeched into Benjamin’s ear the moment he said it. Benjamin simply ignored his feathery companion and pretending as though he had heard nothing.

“Anyone else?” Willow asked again.

“Thank…you,” said Lucian. While he wasn’t very fond of ravens he saw no issue with a quill that used a raven feather. Yet he still took it hesitantly for he could not think of where to put it. So he simply shoved it into his coat pocket for the time being.

“Well you should consider yourself lucky, Lucian,” said Willow. “I heard Lira only ever got one present for her initiation, now you have two!”

“Indeed I do,” Lucian said agreeably. “Three!” someone then shouted. Lucian looked and saw that it was Arthur. He walked up to Lucian and opened his palm to reveal a steel lighter, polished to the point where it acted like a mirror. It was a gift Lucian found very fitting, seeing as it came from the Mornings.

“What do you think?” asked Arthur nervously. “It looks quite amazing,” Lucian answered enthusiastically. Arthur sighed with relief. “Good! Cause it was either this or a necklace fashioned from old train parts,”

Lucian laughed, for at first he thought it was a mere joke, but once he saw that Arthur walk away without chuckling he began to think whether he had meant that statement quite literally.

“I would give my brother something, but I feel like my mere presence is the greatest gift I can bestow,” Lily said lazily. Lucian frowned at her, but she purposefully took no notice.

Just then, Luin got up from his chair and approached him. “I think I may have something worth giving,” he said. He then reach into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a small piece of wood. Lucian recognized it as the piece of wood he used to open the lock in his father’s study.

“You? But you’re too young to be a peer,” said Benjamin.

“I know, think of it as a lone gift from your spare cousin,” said Luin casually, yet he did not look Lucian in the eye. He took the thin strip of wood and Luin walked away and sat back on his chair.

Lucian then looked over at the Hatlys. He glanced at Laura, who looked him in the eye before looking away and tilting her head. Lucian then swiftly looked away, assuming the Hatly’s had nothing for him. He instead turned his attention to the Venshires. However, Alice and James simple raised their hands shrugged. “Apologizes, Lucian,” said James. “We didn’t know we had to bring you anything,” said Alice. Lucian smiled at them, for he did not mind it in the slightest. He then looked over at Joe, who hadn’t move from his seat next to the window. Everyone then looked at Joe, whose attention seemed to be focused firmly on the street outside. It took him a few moments to turn around and realize that all the faces in the room now stared at him, perhaps he had sensed the weight of their eyes. He shrugged and rolled his eyes at the crowd. Lucian expected as much from Joe.

Willow then looked at her pocket watch again, “Time seems to be running short, I suggest we take our leave now if none of us have anything more to add,” she said in a cheerful yet increasingly impatient manner.

“Wait!” shouted Laura suddenly, her abruptness made Willow flinch. Lucian looked over at Laura. He saw her look down at her hands; he could see her fingers rubbing something very small between her palms. Charlotte then nudged her in the shoulder and nodded. Laura then got up from the bed and approached Lucian. She held out her closed fist and opened it, revealing a shining gold ring that glistened in the moonlight that poured in from the window. It was broader and thicker than all the rings Lucian had previously seen and Laura held it with a smile that displayed both sincerity and a little hesitation.

“Here,” she said softly. Lucian took the ring into his hand and examined it. He could see words etched deep into its good surface. “It would feel a bit wrong to leave you empty-handed. I hope this will suffice. It’s all I really have to give,”

Lucian stared at the mirror-like surface of the ring. He could see face reflected clearly on its surface. He felt a strange connection to it. Perhaps because he knew it was a last minute gift, hasty and unplanned yet more genuine. Perhaps it was because it was from Laura, as Lucian could see Lily raised her eyebrow, the moment Lucian took the ring into his hands.

“The words, what do they say?” he asked whilst squinting at the engraved letters. “It’s a poem,” Laura said plainly. “You have to really look if you want to read it; I suggest you not do it now lest you want to hurt your eyes,”

Lucian inserted the ring into his index finger, where it fitted almost perfectly. He could feel its weight pushing his finger downwards as its broader size meant it was slightly heavier than a regular ring. Lucian smiled at Laura, who smiled back in an equally affectionate manner.

“Is that all then?” asked Willow suddenly, breaking Lucian and Laura’s moment. Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw Charles freeze for a few seconds before a wary and concerned expression enveloped his face. “Would anyone else like to add something?” Willow asked in a very impatient and even slightly jittery tone as she turned to the rest of the room. There was no answer, which in itself was an answer. Willow grinned. “Alright then, I think we have all but concluded our evidently pointless discussion. So what’s say we leave now?”

“You seemed to have gotten rather nervous all of a sudden,” said James. “Mind telling us what you saw in your vision?”

Willow opened her mouth to speak but, to Lucian’s surprise and worry, she closed it again. It was as if she was hesitating, as if she had something to hide. “It’s…nothing!” said Charles coming to his sister’s aid. In truth even he looked equally as nervous and jittery as Willow “It’s just our parents might come looking for us if we stay up here any longer,”

Lucian saw Laura narrow her eyes at the Morrows. A look that he did not take lightly. “Well that is no reason to panic; it’s not as if we are in any real danger, are we?” said Benjamin with an optimistic shrug

The Morrows both went silent. Which made Benjamin’s prior optimism falter and crumble. “Are we?” he repeated in a much more serious tone.

“All I know is uncertain peril is nothing to take lightly,” said Willow, in a calm yet serous voice. Something Lucian hadn’t seen her do often. It was as though whatever she had seen had made her usual snarky and tongue-in-cheek attitude disappear. “So I suggest we all leave this…”

“HOLD ON!” Joe then screamed at a volume so loud it made Lucian jump up in surprise. He watched as Joe got up from his chair and walked slowly to the middle of the room while narrowing his eyes at the door suspiciously.

“I hear something,” he whispered, as he got closer and closer to the door. Suddenly, Lucian saw Joe’s eyes widen. “Footsteps,” he said pausing where he stood.

Seconds later, there was a knock on the door. The sound was so abrupt that it made almost everyone in the room jump. All eyes turned to the door, their faces stricken with wary looks as Lucian saw the doorknob turn.

“No, it can’t be. It doesn’t make any sense,” he thought as he felt dread pulsing through his bones. He saw Joe and Benjamin take a step back. He saw Luin slowly push his chair in front of his body. Lucian gulped as an arm stretched out as the door swung and in an instant, a tall figure came in from the dark hallway.

Looking back, Lucian wished it were the mysterious insurgents. For what entered through the door was arguably worse.