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and make sure they do not perform any – ahem … bad works.’
    Theo nodded to show he understood so far. He couldn’t really imagine Dr Saint and his charity organisation doing anything bad, but since discovering the secret room he had the uncomfortable feeling that anything was possible.
    ‘Anything else?’ he asked hopefully. The cemetery keeper’s aspect suddenly changed. There was a strange glow in his eyes. For a moment, Theo was almost scared of him.
    ‘It is also our job to preserve something special about the past,’ Magnus said. ‘Something which other people would try to destroy. You are part of that past.’
    ‘A dangerous part!’ butted in Sam, hunting around under the sink for more cider. Theo went pale.
    ‘Don’t frighten him!’ gurgled Magnus, almost choking on his milky glop.
‘Dangerous
is a dangerous word. It is not for us to say!’
    ‘But think how they locked him up, kept him hidden!’ Sam shouted with his head still in the cupboard. ‘Theo must be very –’
    ‘That’s enough!’ croaked Magnus, sitting up suddenly and letting his bowl crash to the floor. Sam shut up. Magnus smiled apologetically at Theo. The old man looked drained and frail again as he sank slowly back into his seat.
    ‘This is a delicate matter.’ The cemetery keeper sighed. ‘Tomorrow Theo will be introduced to the Grand Council of the Vigilant. Until then, we must say no more.’
    Sam had failed to find any drink, but was delighted to emerge from the cupboard with a packet of jelly beans.
    ‘Anyway,’ he said with a grin, ‘you are so lucky we rescued you … whoever you are!’
    Ordered into silence again, Sam demonstrated his high spirits by throwing the beans up in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth.
    That night, Theo slept on a lumpy sofa, with a smelly blanket wrapped round him.
    They moved on before dawn.
My guardian must know I’ve gone by now,
Theo thought. There would be bedlam in Empire Hall! Theo couldn’t bear to think about it. He wasn’t entirely sure he had made the right decision in running away. He shivered in the damp autumn twilight.
    The three trudged through the scant woodlands on the edge of the great cemetery. Theo, still feeling a horrible gaseous reaction going on in his stomach, was grateful that the ancient Magnus was accompanying them, lurching along on two walking sticks. It kept the pace slow, and even Theo’s feeble muscles started to get used to the activity.
    They finally reached what Theo took to be the edge of the cemetery. An iron gate was snarled up in so much bindweed it took all Sam’s strength to tear it open.
    ‘I’m as excited as you are, Theo,’ Sam said as they squeezed through the gate. ‘I’ve never seen the Grand Council myself! The last time Grandad went, I think I was about three.’
    Magnus stopped and sank down between his walking sticks like a scarecrow that had lost half its stuffing.
    ‘There has been nothing to meet for,’ he said. ‘The Society was created to wait and watch … until the time of the Ascendancy. That time is now.’
    ‘He didn’t even tell me the rescue was on until seven o’clock last night –’ began Sam sulkily.
    ‘Tush! Tish!
Keep it quiet,’ scolded Magnus. ‘The Mysteries must be respected!’
    ‘All right!’ groaned Sam.
    They hit an abandoned railway track, overgrown with head-high hogweed. The cemetery keeper took the lead and heaved his body along with silent resolution. From behind nearby hoardings, the sound of traffic roared by unseen. Sam gave Theo a conspiratorial look.
    ‘Grandad can’t hear us now. He’s hard to get away from. He’s very, err …’
    ‘… Vigilant?’ suggested Theo.
    ‘Exactly. I can see he trusts you though. He had that special look about him last night. He usually reserves that look for when he talks about Mr Norrowmore.’
    ‘Who’s he?’
    ‘The Eternal Vigilance. He’s the geezer we’ll meet at the Watch Tower. He’s our only link to the Grand