The Mime Order (The Bone Season Book 2)

by Samantha Shannon

Mimes, in the form of God on high, Mutter and mumble low, And hither and thither fly— Mere puppets they, who come and go At bidding of vast formless things … EDGAR ALLAN POE

pentad line. A map showed the five secret stations: Oxford, Winterbrook, Whitehall, Lambeth East, Tower of London.

Now that amber had cracked open, and I was the frail thing inside it, desperately trying to flutter back to life.

Life, uh, finds a way.

petrichor

‘You’re being so ungrateful.’ ‘You didn’t hear the way he spoke to me in Oxford.’ ‘He was stressed, Paige.

Barf

If we could organise and fight, instead of fleecing and killing each other, we might stand a chance against Scion.’ ‘Paige, it’s a criminal organisation. Most thieves don’t want to save the world.’

Fortune, seeing that she could not make fools wise, has made them lucky.’ ‘Shakespeare?’ ‘Michel de Montaigne.’ Alfred returned his attention to his book. ‘Farewell, halfwit.’

‘You look rather glum this evening. In my experience, that means you haven’t had quite enough coffee.’ ‘I haven’t even had one.’ ‘You are clearly not a member of the literati.’

Literature is our most powerful tool, one Scion has never mastered.’

Part of me wished the story were true. A wiser part knew that it must serve a purpose, like making sure the hatred of the Irish never faded.

‘When I was seventeen, I was struck down with cholera,’

What is this, the Oregon Trail?

Jaxon led me into his study. His boudoir, as he called it. It had made sense when I realised it meant sulking room in French.

Maria believed in the danger of Senshield. She also had a deep grudge against Hector. If I played my cards right, she could be a useful ally.

luthiers’

vanitas paintings,

‘There’s a difference between wanting to kill someone and actually killing someone, Jax.’ Which is why you’re not dead yourself, I thought at him.

‘The first time I came to London, I was terrified. All those layers of history and death – they made me feel like a morsel, swallowed whole by something that had never even seen me,’ Nick said. ‘After I moved here for good, I slowly came to realise that I didn’t mind being devoured. If I could just be part of London, I felt as if I could be anything, do anything. All I had to do was let myself be swept away.’

I’ve heard troubling reports that the night Vigiles have been moving by daylight.’

The Heathen Philosopher

Lord Costermonger

‘Every revolution begins with breakfast, darling.’

Not quite "Rebellions are built on hope."

‘Oh, catch yourself on,’ I said in disgust, losing the very last of my temper. ‘I’m not sixteen any more, Jax. And you’re not as clever as you think.’ ‘Be careful, Paige.’ His face was losing colour again. ‘You are treading a very fine line.’ ‘Fuck you.’

When there are only two Combatants left in the Rose Ring, and they are not a Mime-Lord- or Mime-Queen-and-Mollisher duo, they must do battle to the Death for a final Victor to be declared. Only by using a specific Declaration – ‘in the sight of the Æther, I yield’ – can a Combatant end the last Fight without Bloodshed.

‘The Netherworld is rotting, and they’d still rather live there?’ ‘Earth is rotting. So are you, human.’

as his mollisher, I was expected to be at his side whenever he desired my presence. To soothe his wounds, to boost his ego; to follow his orders to the letter. Frankly, I had better things to do.

London – beautiful, immortal London – has never been a city in the simplest sense of the word. It was, and is, a living, breathing thing, a stone leviathan that harbours secrets underneath its scales. It guards them covetously, hiding them deep within its body; only the mad or the worthy can find them.

When the king fled from his throne. Every raven turned and flew away While the blood turned cold down Whitechapel-way, ‘He was stained,’ they claimed, ‘by the Ripper’s blade; He is our king no more.’

‘I see a set of scales,’ she said, in the same monotone Liss had used when she read my cards. ‘One bowl is full of blood, weighing it down. Four figures stand around the scales – two on one side, two on the other.’

‘A hand without living flesh, its fingers pointing to the sky. Red silk surrounds its wrist like a manacle,’ she said. ‘The hand snatches crushed petals from the ground. Two fingers break away, but it keeps snatching.’

‘Remember the way the number is divided. A three and a four,’ she said. ‘That division will be significant.’

Jaxon really was counting his coppers. I still didn’t understand his insistence that we were running out of money.

‘Came in here quite often for a game with one of her girlfriends.’ ‘Cutmouth had girlfriends?’ ‘On the sly, I think.’

we soon discovered that only the Mothallath could step between the worlds.’ ‘Why?’ ‘That remains a mystery. To pacify the Sargas, Azha and her watchers – those Mothallath who travelled with her – swore that they would never cross the veil without our blessing. They would wear armour made of adamant to protect themselves from corruption. Most importantly, they would never reveal themselves to the living. They would always maintain their distance from humans.’ He stopped. ‘Someone … didn’t,’ I said. ‘We do not know exactly what happened,’ he said, ‘but the Netherworld began to deteriorate.

The first and only war in their history. Procyon had declared his intention to overthrow the Mothallath. The Mesarthim had sprung to their defence. The Rephs had split down the middle, their families declaring for either the Mothallath or the Sargas. The Sarin had initially remained neutral, but even they had finally been drawn into the fray.

‘Our strength took some time to fade,’ Warden said, ‘but you have it right. We call this period the Waning of the Veils.’ ‘Did Azha ever come back?’ ‘Yes. She returned with the news that some humans had shown the ability to connect with the æther. The living could now converse with the dead.’ ‘Clairvoyants,’ I said softly. ‘You mean we hadn’t always been there?’ ‘Not to our knowledge,’ Warden said. ‘It was the death knell for our side of the war. Few believed this happenstance was a coincidence. Ettanin was overthrown, and the Mothallath were usurped and destroyed.’ ‘All of them?’ ‘Yes, along with most of my family.’

Nashira had also discovered that we could use human auras to sustain ourselves,’ he said. ‘By the end of the war, we were exceptionally weak. She believed that we would be able to recover our strength on Earth, so long as we never allowed humans – violent, cruel, foolish mortals – to hold dominion over us.’ I could see his eyes burning, reflected by the window. ‘To that end,’ he said, ‘we revealed ourselves to Lord Palmerston, telling him that the Emim were demons and we, angels. Almost without question, he surrendered control of the government to Nashira.’

‘The Ranthen were the ones who supported the Mothallath,’ I said. ‘You’re all that’s left, aren’t you?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘And you still hold a grudge against the Sargas.’ I nodded slowly. ‘Okay. I get it now.’ ‘Knowing all of this, would you be willing to continue our alliance?’ ‘Depends what you want.’ ‘To overthrow the usurpers and forge an open and cordial relationship with humans,’ Warden said. ‘The Sargas have become precisely what they criticise in mortals. They wish to conquer Earth. We do not.’ ‘But you can’t live in the Netherworld.’ ‘We hope the Netherworld can one day be restored,’ he said, ‘but until then, we would be content to dwell among humans without ruling over you. Ideally, we would have an advisory role in your world, to keep the number of spirits in check and establish a fair balance of power. If we cannot do this, we fear there will be chaos.’ ‘What sort of chaos?’ ‘If the Netherworld can fall, so can Earth.’

Even among the Ranthen, there is a profound contempt for humans and Earth.’ ‘What’s wrong with Earth?’ ‘Everything here is dying. Nothing in this world escapes the ravages of time,’ he said. ‘To deathless beings, that is a disturbing thought. They see it as the reason why humans are so bloodthirsty.

Unlike the Sargas, the Ranthen do not categorically blame humans for what happened to the Netherworld – but they do not see you as their equals, either.’ ‘Do you?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘What makes you so different from the others?’ ‘I fell in love with human music,’ Warden said. ‘With all your arts, in fact.’

‘Our original plan was to destroy Nashira and Gomeisa,’ he went on, ‘but Oxford proved that we are not yet strong enough to do this. For now, we must devote ourselves to weakening Scion, their source of power on Earth.

‘If I become Underqueen,’ I said, ‘we might be able to rally the syndicate. But I’ll be up against half the mime-lords and mime-queens of this citadel, including Jaxon.’ ‘I take it they are all like him.’ ‘What, bloodthirsty peacocks? Almost uniformly.’

I could have sworn the ruffles of her dress quivered with outrage.

Being a true and faithful Account of the Creators of Scion, and their Reaping of Clairvoyants

Novembertide. It was the most important festival on the Scion calendar, celebrating the formal opening of the Scion Citadel of London.

Being enough had been nice while it lasted.

‘Most spirits are rather easy to deflect. My boundlings are superior, for they carry my strength with them – the will and awareness of the living, giving them a power I imagine is akin to yours, when you take spirit form. This fortification means they can inflict damage on the dreamscape – even manipulate its appearance.’

‘Life, for all its wonders, is rather flimsy in the end.’

He had at least thirteen boundlings, including three poltergeists: Weeping Sukie, Jean the Skinner, and now the London Monster.

‘As we speak, Vindemiatrix Sargas is indoctrinating humans in the free world, training them as sleeper agents.

‘If I’d wanted lectures, I would have gone to the University.