Page 58 of Break You

“The ceremony is said to involve a series of mysterious rituals conducted by the Northern Cross, who don Fawkes masks—a tradition developed long before they were made popular by the movie V for Vendetta, and more recently, the Anonymous and Occupy Movements—and heavy, black-velvet robes.

“Purportedly headquartered at Trinity Hall with the Alpha Cygni and key members of the Northern Cross resident there, the society is also suspected to keep company at the nearby prestigious Swan Club. But with members remaining secret until after graduation—when they reveal themselves by wearing ties emblazoned with the society’s crest, which features its motto and a black swan, among other symbolic elements—and even then, never formally confirmed, it’s very hard to substantiate any of the rumors.”

Holy. Goddamn. Shit.

I didn’t believe in coincidences. I never had, and even if I did, all of this stuff was way too similar to be chance. I moved away from the desk to sit on my bed, and clear my head before I passed out, and it was then that I saw it. My purse, laid neatly on my pillow.

The scream left my lips before I could stop it, but as soon as I registered what I was doing, I clamped my mouth shut, not wanting to alert Erykah to my distress. I realized I’d failed in that aim, when she came sprinting into my room, looking understandably concerned.

“Rocky, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did something happen?”

I quickly rearranged my features into the best semblance of normality I could muster.

“Yeah. Sorry, I stubbed my toe on the leg of my desk. I think it may be broken. It hurts like a bitch.” It was a small lie. That exact thing had happened—three years earlier.

“Oh, okay. Want me to get some ice or something?” She looked dubiously at my socked feet.

“No, it’s okay. I think I’ll just splint it and keep the weight off, is all.”

“Oh okay. Sorry to come bursting in here like some kind of drama queen, it’s just, I thought…”

I felt guilty for lying to her; she was such a good friend to me. “You never need to apologize for being a good friend. I’m sorry I scared you into running around after me.”

“Any time. I’ll just go back to my…” She pointed vaguely in the direction of my doorway.

“Oh sure, of course. But... umm, before you go, I did want to ask you something, because you know pretty-much everything about everything, and definitely everything Heathcote-related.” Erykah was a grad student, and also worked part-time in the college library. There really didn’t seem to be too much she didn’t know about Heathcote, and pretty much every other topic anyone could think of.

“Well, no. My knowledge is specific, not generalized, but what did you want to know?”

I asked her what she knew about Cygnus Dei, and she replayed what I’d just read in the brochure, pretty much word for word.

“Hmm… and what about Jupiter Cob. Does that name sound familiar?”

She nibbled on her lip in silent thought for a moment.

“No, it doesn’t. Who is it?”

“I’m not really sure, but I think there’s some kind of connection with Cygnus.”

“Hmm… wait, what was the name again?”

“Jupiter Cob.”

“Hahahaha!” Her eyes lit up as she spoke. “Someone thinks they’re clever. It’s probably a pseudonym.”

“How do you know?”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but cob is the name given to male swans.”

I hadn’t known and wasn’t really sure of the relevance of that information right now. It was also the name given to hard center of an ear of corn, a type of bread, and probably a few other things I had no idea about.

“Umm… no?”

“I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, except you mentioned that there’s some connection to Cygnus Dei, which is named after Cygnus, the constellation otherwise known as the Swan.”

Oh God.

“There’s all this mythology around the constellation, right, different Greek and other myths, but one of the most common ones is around Zeus, who, long story short, turns into a…?” She looked at me to fill in the blank.