The Syndicate building was behind him now and the night air was cool against his face.
Percy walked without hurrying. His ribs had been aching for a while now and his tailbone was making its feelings known every few steps , sometimes it felt like the tail and his crotch is connected making it hurt there too.
"Damn it hurts fuck , why did he needed to slam me so hard ?"
He kept his hands in his pocket since it was getting colder but his fingers found a badge.
It was not the Union Law Syndicate one but the other one Lyro had pressed into his hand just before he left the office.
He pulled it out and looked at it under a lamppost.
It was smaller than the first badge. Darker metal. The symbol on the front was different too. An eclipse, a sun half consumed by shadow, with the same strangely bent sword from the Union Law insignia piercing through the center, the two cups on either side.
He turned it over and saw a number was stamped into the back in small clean characters.
"9999x 727"
---
"Your Eclipse Syndicate badge," Lyro had said, holding it out. "The number on the back is yours. Don't lose it."
Percy had taken it and looked at the number. "What does the x mean?"
"Code for thousand," Lyro said. "So you are the nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, seven hundred and twenty seventh member of the Eclipse Syndicate."
Percy stared at him.
"Were there actually that many?"
Lyro shrugged. "The number includes everyone from the founding. Dead ones included."
"How long has the Eclipse Syndicate existed?"
"Thousands of years."
Percy looked at the badge again. Nine million and counting. He wasn't sure whether that was reassuring or not.
"I didn't register for the Eclipse Syndicate," Percy said. "I only did the Union Law registration with Marco."
Lyro waved a hand. "I handled it."
"You handled it."
"I used your Union Law information and added what was needed. It's done."
Percy looked at him.
"You could have mentioned that."
"I'm mentioning it now," Lyro said.
Percy pocketed the badge and said nothing further.
---
He turned it over once more in his fingers under the lamplight then put it away.
"Nine million nine hundred and ninety nine thousand seven hundred and twenty seven , that hurts my head i will just say seven hundred twenty seven , I'm sure it won't offend the guy with this number since he must already be six feet under."
He walked on.
The streets had thinned out. A carriage rolled past in the other direction, the zebra's breath misting in the cold air. A few windows along the road still had lights behind them but most had gone dark.
He turned onto his road.
The Callyst house had one window lit on the ground floor. He considered knocking and decided against it. It was late enough that it would worry her more than reassure her.
He unlocked his door and went inside.
The kitchen was cold. He found bread and cheese and decided eat standing near the counter with one lamp burning , since his tailbone was not suitable for sitting on a wooden chair right now , only something like the soft chair at the syndicate was comfortable enough.
After he finished he stood there a while. He turned the lamp down and headed upstairs.
The box was on the desk . He sat down and wound it three times and waited.
The click came and Zara's voice followed after a few seconds.
She asked about distance first, carefully. Then whether he encountered magical things often. Then she described what her friend had seen. A hazy figure in her father's study. There and not quite there.
The recording ended.
Percy decided to sit on the bed since it was soft enough.
He lifted the box near his mouth and spoke.
"Miss Zara."
"To answer your first question. I don't know the distance between us yet. I intend to find out but haven't had the opportunity."
"As for your second question. Yes. I come across these things more than I would prefer."
He decided to lie a bit since he wanted to come as experienced and not get looked down on.
He looked at the wall for a moment.
"Regarding your friend."
He thought about how much to say.
"What your friend saw was most likely a person. A person who has undergone a certain kind of changes. "
"The important thing is that your friend saw it at all."
He set the box down briefly then picked it up again.
"As for whether it is dangerous. That depends on why that person was there and what they wanted. I cannot answer that without knowing more."
"If your friend sees it again, tell her not to show that she noticed. That is the safest thing for now."
He put the box in the drawer and got into bed.
His ribs ached a bit as well as his tail bone but it was bearable when he layed down but decided to ignore it and fall asleep anyway.
---------
Elsewhere.
A dark cathedral stood in the middle of a forest. The moon lit the stone walls from above alone as no stars accompanied it .
Men in black suits stood in a wide circle around the dark ruined cathedral, each with a hat pulled low over the upper half of their face.
At the front of them all stood a man with a curved pipe.
Charles took one draw and spoke with confidence.
"You're surrounded. No need to play this game any longer. I don't have time to wait until the first sun peeks at the horizon and neither do you."
Margarette stood five steps behind him. Her gaze was fixed on the ruined cathedral and had not moved since they arrived.
Within the darkness of the open doorway a single red eye became visible. Then two.
The figure stepped out and grinned, reaching up to tip his hat.
"I'm honoured to have received such a welcome from the Syndicate." His hazy outline flickered rapidly at the edges.
"You know what they say. When you're in a different nation you'll feel right at home because the Syndicate is there too."
The grin stayed but his voice dropped.
"And in every nation they act like the same dogs of Morgana."
He spat the last word.
Charles's outline began to shift. Around him the others did the same, their edges going hazy one by one in the dark.
He reached into his coat and placed the curved pipe into its metal case.
"Well then." He looked across at the figure in the doorway. "What's the wait. Jump him."