They looked at each other and then at Iktomi again. But the man appeared to have vanished. It wasn’t frightening or creepy as they were used to the magical comings and goings of the guests at the club. But for the spider god to actually appear, it seemed like something was going to happen. As they blankly looked at where Iktomi stood earlier, the man appeared again. Ciel realized that it was not the real person but a projection; the man looked transparent, as if he was fading. Looking on the ground, they realized that there was a very small spider there. The tiny thing was no bigger than the size of Ciel’s thumbnail. Perhaps this was the only way it could leave the watch of the shadow undetected.
Kou gently crouched down and extended his hand. The spider quickly climbed onto his palm. He looked at Ciel and the twins. Would it be better to bring the spider god home or call Master Gin here? Ciel patted him on the shoulder.
“We’ll go to father’s office. Blanc, Noire, please call father here.”
The twins nodded and left while Kou stood up and followed Ciel to his father’s office. As they were going downstairs, they bumped into George, who looked like he was about to start his morning training. Now that Ciel thought about it, George never joined them for their morning sparring sessions, preferring to train alone after they left. Ciel had felt a little hurt but decided that perhaps he wasn’t a good enough opponent in his eyes. He looked at the man now and indicated with his eyes that he should follow them. The blond man’s eyes sharpened and he automatically followed the two of them. His eyes trailed over the two brothers but they were both poker-faced and he could not get a hint of what was going on.
When they reached the office, Ciel and Kou still did not say anything, preferring to wait for his father. He wondered if he should also call Fionn and have him join them, considering that he was head of the day shift security team. As if his father had read his mind, Gin walked in with the twins and Fionn in tow. As usual, he raised a barrier and looked at Kou and Ciel.
“Where is he?” he asked, bewildering the George and Fionn.
Kou raised his palm and they saw a very small spider in his hand, the colour of black and gold, with white and red markings on it. Gin removed a jar from his desk. They were enchanted jars that he had made in advance, in preparation for Iktomi and the Great Goddess. He gently tilted the jar and the spider entered it readily. After sealing the jar, the spider projected his human form again, his size shrunk to fit the container.
Gin looked at the figure in the jar and gave a slight bow. “Greetings lord Iktomi.”
The man gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement. Gin continued, “I apologize for confining you but I’m sure you understand the reasons why.” Again he gave a small nod. Ciel noticed that Iktomi had not spoken a word from the beginning until now. He wondered if it was because his tiny form didn't have enough energy or because he did not want to be detected by the shadows.
“I presume that this is not your real body-” the man gave a small smile. “Is there something you wish to tell us?”
Iktomi stared at them in silence. His demeanour was calm and he did not appear to want to say anything. Finally Gin spoke again. “If it is refuge you seek, we will of course offer it to you willingly. However with what is going on, we hope that you will not mind that we keep you detained until we know that you are trustworthy. We cannot risk another attack like the one we had two weeks back.”
Iktomi continued to maintain his silence. He however gave the tiniest of nods to agree to Gin’s terms. Everyone looked at each other but no one said a word. Whatever his reasons, Iktomi had voluntarily agreed to be a prisoner under Sanctuary’s care. They would hopefully understand his reasons when he was ready to speak.
“If there is nothing else, then we will leave you here for now.” Gin got up and was ushering everyone out.
“Wait.” Ciel suddenly stopped everyone, who looked at him in curiosity. “Lord Iktomi, how is the Great Goddess?”
His question reminded everyone that there were more than one spider deity that had been controlled and Tlaloc’s request. Iktomi looked at Ciel for a moment before lowering his head. Ciel felt a deep sorrow that he could not understand.
“Thank you, Lord Iktomi. We will take our leave for now. I hope you will not be too uncomfortable in your confinement.” Master Gin put his hand on Ciel’s shoulder and steered his son out. Everyone else followed suit. Once they were out, Master Gin sealed the room again before turning to everyone there.
“The thing about our guest has to be kept quiet for now. We have no idea if there are any listeners that shouldn’t be around. Maybe I’ll be able to get more information from him later in private.” He patted Ciel who was still lost in thought on the shoulder, as if to tell him to cheer up. Ciel gave a start and smiled at his father.
“Let’s go home then. I’m starving.” After all, they had been interrupted before they could go home for breakfast.
“All right. You kids go back and tell your mother I’ll be back to join all of you in a while. I need to speak to my captains first.”
Ciel and the rest nodded and left, Ciel casting one last look at his father and the two blond men he was talking to. He returned home and after they had reassured their mother that there was nothing the matter at the club, they all went to their rooms to freshen up and change before they regrouped in the dining room.
“Well, since your father said he’d be a little late, let’s start first.” Scarlet smiled and urged her children to eat. They were almost done when Gin walked into the dining room.
“Sorry I’m late. The discussion took a little longer than I expected.” Gin said, before he gave his wife a peck on the cheek and sat at the head of the table.
“Don’t worry father, we can still have seconds.” Blanc reassured him, as he went back to the sideboard for another helping of French toast and bacon. After sitting back down, he reached for the syrup bottle and drowned everything in a sticky, sweet mess. Noire looked at her twin like she was looking at a heretic but Ciel was thinking that if he weren’t so full, he might have done the same. Instead he sat back and enjoyed his hot café latte instead.
“Did something happen after we leave?” Kou asked seriously. After living two weeks with the family, he had gradually lost his shy, awkward attitude and had naturally assimilated with the family. If this went on, it would be as if he had never left…
“Not really. But I had some concerns. After the last incident, I placed a barrier at every entrance that would tell me if someone went past, even if it was the size of a flea. Iktomi did not trigger my barrier at all.”
Everyone understood the implication of that statement. If he had not triggered the barrier, then he was there the whole time, before Gin set up the barrier, which was two weeks ago. No one said a word, waiting for Gin to continue.
“Naturally, it was either he was here all the while or someone has made an entrance I was not aware of. So I sent my security team to scour the whole club again. Sanctuary is both an entrance and an exit. Iktomi came willingly and was kind enough to voluntarily be imprisoned by us. If the next being that sneaks through does not think the same way, then my mission and promise to Master Seki would have failed and I would most likely be driven away from the valley. We all know what’s at stake here.”
They didn’t even nod; everything that Gin had said was true. There was too much at stake and shadow’s sudden attack after being dormant for so long was worrying. Their move of enslaving and using spider figures from myths and folklore was unnerving. If this time they used spiders, would they use other creatures in the future? Sanctuary was a haven because everyone knew that they’d be safe there. If that sense of security was taken away, Sanctuary was doomed. So they continued to finish their meal in silence, each with their own thoughts.
Later when they were done, Ciel went with Kou to the family library and started browsing some magic spells there. But Ciel couldn’t concentrate. The silent look that Iktomi gave when he asked about the Teotihuacan Spider Woman had depressed him. If the Great Goddess was really no more, how would they answer to Tlaloc and the other Aztec and Mayan Gods and Goddesses? There was no recorded myths about her, only what the historians and archaeologists had uncovered. Was there really no hope for her?
He sighed in front of the bookshelf and pulled another book out at random. It wasn’t even a book; it looked like a file that contained pages of documents that his father must have collected from his travels during his youth. It looked like it was printed in the 1600s but it was in mint condition. Most likely his father had bought it when it had just been published and had kept it in his library ever since. The Latin words Acta Sanctorum was printed on the front of the folio and when he flipped it open, he saw a paper with his father’s writing, indicating that it was a list of known saints. He paused. He knew why his father had bought the folio, of course; with his line of work, it would not be surprising if a saint were to walk into the club and it would not do if his father couldn’t recognize them. His eyes were attracted to the first page under his father’s notation: De S Georgio Megalo-Martyr, Lyddae seu Diospoli in Paleastina. He quickly shut the book, his face turning slightly pink.
It was not that he did not want to think about that man; he was haunting his dreams every night. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak to him; he didn’t know what to say to a man who was avoiding him. Ciel couldn’t choose; they were more or less back to how they had interacted before – distant without unnecessary contact. Perhaps this was what George thought he wanted. The only difference was the scorching look that George would give every time he thought Ciel was not aware. Ciel was too shy to make the first move and George would not. It was a stalemate that did not look like it would end soon. Ciel sighed and promised that he would seek George out and perhaps see if there would be a change in their relationship. He should also look for his father and ask him about that ‘future son-in-law???’ that his father had jotted down and circled several times on George’s page one day.
They arrived at the club that evening and right away Ciel noticed that George was not there. Bei had been deputized and he was currently discussing several things with his father and the twins, who were his father’s second in command after the captains. Ciel remembered that his father had mentioned giving some tasks to him earlier and did not think much about it. It was common that certain responsibilities bestowed on them were heavy and would take time. Till the end of the evening, Ciel did not catch a glimpse of the man at all. It was not worrying until he realized that George and only George had been missing for a month.
