“This is for you,” Max held out a cloak with pride. It was a convincing replica of the one Cy wore every day until it was left behind with Haiddeck. “You can’t wear it tonight. And I think I should fix up some of the stitches to make it more durable… But it’s yours.”

  The pride on Max’s face unnerved Cy slightly, but he respectfully picked up the piece of clothing. It was damn close to the original. Even some of the stains Cy added over the years had been replicated. “Thanks… But you should keep it.” He tried handing it back. “It must’ve taken a lot of time.”

  “No time at all.” Max didn’t even seem interested in it anymore. “How’s it coming along in that corset, BB?”

  “The boning is holding strong,” BB said, before losing her breath again from pulling hard at the strings from behind a changing screen.

  “There are bones in her clothes?” Cy’s question was answered with a quick nod.

  “Do you need me to help tighten the strings?”

  “Nah, I’m go-od.”

  “Alright,” Max left it to her. No need to tell her how to get dressed, since she probably spent so many lives living in a similar time period. Cy was still holding the cloak out in front of him. “What’s wrong? Did I get the sizing wrong?”

  “I think you should take it.”

  Max frowned in confusion. “What? Why?”

  “Well, people are looking for you.”

  “Eh, that’s not a big deal-”

  “Not a big deal,” Cy scoffed before finally throwing the cloak at Max, who instinctively caught it. “Thanks for the gesture, but you should use it to cover your face when we hit the road again.”

  Max threw it right back, only for it to fall from the floor with Cy failing to catch it. “I’m not the only person they’ll be looking for. You should cover your own face.” He watched Cy pick it up from the floor and pat off some of the imaginary dirt on it. “The drawing of me on that poster was accurate, so whoever designed it is most likely connected to someone from Tsujuma, Edric, or the village. Regardless, if they’re looking for me, then they know to look for you too.”

  Rather than throw it back and risk damaging the seams, Cy laid the cloak neatly on the bed. “Undoubtedly,” he confirmed his suspicions. “Some of the Elders aren’t going to just let your attack go either.” Cy didn’t have to name names for Max to make an educated guess. “The difference between the two of us is all the during people and the angry people from my hometown want you dead. They’ll only want information from me.”

  Max’s tone darkened slightly from Cy’s naivety showing. “And what do you think they’re going to do to get that information out of you? Ask nicely?”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake.” BB knocked over the changing screen to show she was still only half dressed and moderately covered. Without hesitation, she picked up the cloak and threw it at Cy. “Wear it. It was a nice way of saying sorry.” Before Cy could argue back, she turned her attention to Max. “Make one more for yourself. A different kind? A matching couple’s cloak? I don’t give a shit. Don’t make your psychic work overtime cause you’re scared of a little hood.”

  She quickly picked back up the changing screen. After grabbing the petticoat, she gave the pair of them one last look over. “Well, aren’t you two going to get dressed? Love’s awaiting!”

  “This isn’t going to work.” BB grumbled for the sixth time, as she tried to replicate Max’s slow movement. For the free-flowing BB, precision didn’t seem to be her speciality. “I told you I stink at magic.”

  “If you’re giving up already, you don’t deserve love,” Max snapped back. It was enough reason for her to push forward for a little longer. After an hour of going back and forth with coaching BB and Cy, his frustration was beginning to show. Working with cattle was much more preferable. At least Cy was keeping his focus. He practiced the movements he would need to cast on top of a pile of their remaining pieces of parchments, which had been glued together to cover most of the vandalised, wooden floor. Both of them were covered in intricate runes waiting to be set off.

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  It was almost time. The sun had set, and the witching hour was drawing near. The confidence Max had exhibited this morning was quickly weaning, but he stayed committed to his idea. He wanted it to work.

  “Hold out your arm,” Max stopped BB’s flow. She quickly obliged before suspicion grew. Back at Jacquotte’s vacation home, Max had to think of identification marks. Max and Cy had their names. It would’ve been difficult to pull Jacquotte and BB into the dream without Edric and June’s categorisation policies. Max dipped a quill pen in some ink before beginning to draw lines on her skin. “For future reference, if anyone asks, this is your number: 10034.”

  “Why that number- Wait? Aren’t these the lines Navy had?” The mention of Navy’s name broke Cy’s concentration.

  “No? He had a different number.” Max turned to look at a curious Cy. “Come over here,” he ordered. “It’s about time you learn how to read runic numbers.”

  “They’re numbers?” BB muttered, confused. “So, this says 10034?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you said the numbers were part of a cult.”

  “A cult?” Cy first appeared disheartened by looking at the minute differences between the lines before getting distracted. “You were part of a cult?”

  “So, is Edric,” Max was pleased that Cy didn’t appear too surprised. “We split the numbers into three categories. Numbers starting with one or two were recruited by me.”

  “I’m the 34th person to be recruited by you?”

  Max shrugged, “I don’t like it. I don’t like the set-up, the implications, and most importantly the paperwork required afterwards.” Cy immediately understood when Max added, “It’s twice as bad as my application to Tsujuma.”

  “What did Navy’s number start with?”

  “Five, but I can’t remember the rest of the numbers… Anyway, three and four belong to someone called June, and five and six are Edric’s.”

  “Why two numbers…” BB started doing the math in her head. “You’re telling me you managed to recruit over ten thousand people?”

  “Well, I didn’t,” Max gestured to the thirty-four on her arm. He may as well point out some gibberish since he was the only one who could read it. “Edric’s trying. I think June is in the middle with her fours, so she was planning on reserving seven and eight.”

  “There are so many of us?”

  Max thought about hiding what he knew before realising how foolish it would be in front of Cy. Maybe Darius had told him more before passing away. “Last time, our running theory is that the worlds aren’t random. It’s always in the same order, but people occasionally skip some so not everyone spawns in every world. Also, some worlds exist for a long time, so it’s not as noticeable. From our records, there is a strong trend to suggest everyone goes through roughly the same order of worlds.” Max looked to Cy for his support or opinion. He was only met with a strange look. It was a bit unnerving.

  “Really?” BB was clearly sceptical. “Cause I don’t remember recently waking up during a regency era.”

  Max was about to go into the details about the theory proposed by June when Cy broke his concentration. “In this ‘cult,’ you are one of three people in charge of numbering people?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And you’re specifically covering numbers starting with one or two with a writing system you invented?”

  Max suddenly didn’t like where this conversation was going. “Mn.”

  It was difficult to imagine what Cy was thinking from his facial expressions and his tone. Darius told him something about those times, there was no doubt about it. After a second to think, Cy suddenly pointed at the clock in the room. “Let’s talk later. It’s time.”

  The familiar music was exciting, as Max opened his eye to see a world he had already left behind. There was a mixture of perfumes and cologne in the warm ballroom. Unfortunately, the pong permeating the current world appeared to have travelled with them combining with the memory. In front of them, lines of eligible young men and women began a dance in front of their families and the live music. The movements in front of him were awkward and stiff, but they went unnoticed by the only real people. “Rule of thumb, keep the gloves on,” Max quickly muttered, as his eyes scanned the crowd.

  “They itch,” Cy complained. Max had a feeling from Cy rubbing his eyes with his gloved hands that the gloves weren’t the source of his discomfort. He looked completely overwhelmed. It must be overwhelming. There was a high chance he was looking at his world’s future. A few partygoers walked past them causing Cy to take a step back before BB gave him a gentle tap on his arm with her fan.

  “Just follow our lead and keep the magic flowin- Hey! Where are you going?” BB’s tone suddenly changed to show her hesitancy in this situation.

  “Didn’t you say you wanted romantic strolls in the garden? Let’s go before Jacquotte joins the dream.” Max led them through the doors with confidence in his step. “This way,” he ushered them in front, as he gave directions. “Turn left. Through those doors.”

  “What’s the rush?” Cy asked, confused. It was only when they were deep in the gardens and the music was getting distant that he really noticed something was amiss. Max was suddenly missing. “Wait… Where did he go?”

  BB groaned and let out a few curses. “Should we end the dream?”

  “… No,” Cy evaluated their situation. Maybe there was a reason why he left them? “Max mentioned Jacquotte joining us soon. Shall we go looking?”

  “Let’s get to it.”

  Max would’ve felt a bit guilty for ditching them if it weren’t for the situation. Without thinking, he was able to navigate the intricate gardens until he found the old, blue gazebo tucked away between hedges. There was nobody there. It was hard to fight the disappointment before his thoughts calmed himself. There was still time. They had all night. They had more than a night thanks to BB’s magic.

  “Hey! You! It’s time to give your life some meaning before it ends-”

  “Hello, Ellie.”