“The Carvers that made the ratakan?”
“They do more than that,” Benedict said. “They dissect and study the Horrors that the hunt manages to capture alive.”
“There are holding pens somewhere in Nightsbridge,” Clary said. “But only the Carvers know the locations.”
Interesting. “You canchooseto be a Carver?”
“You can choose to study for it as early as seventeen, but there are tests and entrance exams and all sorts of requirements. The biology of Horrors is complex and evolving, and all the cutting and medical stuff that goes into it…” Benedict shuddered, but my interest was piqued.
Drayven had mentioned Carvers to me, of course, but I’d been a little out of sorts, what with being under the influence of ratakan toxin.
“The Carvers are bio-Horror-engineers,” Benedict said.
“He made up that word,” Clary added.
“It’s a good word,” he said proudly.
The CCC had a department for the study and classification of critters. I’d been thinking about applying before…everything. Honestly, this was the first time I’d felt a fission of excitement about learning anything since coming to Nightsbridge. Being a Carver would scratch an itch while I waited to get my power restored. I could apply the skills I’d learned working for the CCC. Surely some of the Horrors would have similarities to the critters outside the wards? Maybe I could help the Carvers using the knowledge I already had. At least until I found theLibra Veritasand exposed the Arcanum Imperium, of course.
I wanted to know more. “So how is Advanced Horror different from regular Horror? What does Vitra teach these potential Carvers?”
Clary answered, “101 is the basics. The five main types of Horrors that you might encounter as a Hunter. I’m not sure exactly what they do in Advanced Horror, but rumor is, they learn about thehiddenHorrors and the new, evolving Horrors.”
“Surely students planning to be Hunters need to learn about them, too?”
“They do, but only when they’re seasoned,” Clary said. “Regular Hunters don’t go after the hidden Horrors.”
And seasoned meant the Hunters had made at least twenty-five kills…
The doors opened, and the waiting students stepped back to allow the Carvers-in-training out. Students dressed in head-to-toe fitted black uniforms of trousers and scoop-necked tunics with a black shirt beneath. I counted eleven, all with studious expressions. They filed out silently and dispersed.
“Now that’s not creepy at all,” Clary said. “Men in leggings…” She shuddered.
“It takes a certain type to do what they do,” Benedict said. “Dedication, too. They need twenty-five kills as part of the hunt while taking Advanced Horror and Carver 101. Then, several tests and a final exam administered by the Scentia Keepers in the Infra Sanctum.”
I shook my head. “Slow down a moment. Scentia Keepers and what?”
“Infra Sanctum. It’s a vault,” Clary said. “Beneath Nightsbridge. A library of relics and books. The Scentia Keepers run it.”
My pulse skipped. Could this Infra Sanctum be where theLibra Veritaswas kept? “I’d love to see it.” Damn, I sounded a little too breathless and excited. “I mean…books and relics sound so cool.”
“Oh, you can’t see it,” Clary said. “No one is allowed in except students taking the Carver exam, and I’m pretty sure they’re restricted to a specific area.”
Yep, this had to be the vault Dharma had been talking about in her journal.
Becoming a Carver would get me into the vault. This was my answer. The route to my goal.
The door swung open, and Vitra appeared, looking as classy and elegant as always. Half his hair was pulled back in a knot, accentuating his commanding features. A jacket hung loosely off his shoulders. Hands tucked in his pants pockets, he was a picture of sophisticated elegance.
I couldn’t have this fine specimen of a man, but I could use him to get me closer to my goal.
Yep, Vitra was going to train me to become a Carver.
* * *
Vitra saton the edge of his desk, mug in hand, his demeanor relaxed and easy, as if we’d gathered for a casual chat. “Horrors are elemental beings who took root in our world after The Overshadowing,” he said. “They’ve made Nightsbridge their home—spawning, procreating, and populating—and it is only the efforts of this Academy, its Hunters, and Carvers that the threat remains contained. Locked away from the outside world.” He sipped his beverage. “So, if you did your reading, then you’ll know what the five main types of Horror are. Who would like to go first?” He scanned the room and pointed at a student in the back who I recognized from Combat 101.
“Mudarks,” the boy said. “Tiny creatures that live in underground colonies. They’re pests that keep growing in number. Oh, and they can band together to form one huge creature.”
