Raven and Wolf exchanged a half smile, picked up plates with large slices of chocolate cake and followed Maximilian into his room.

“Right,” said Maximilian, once the door was closed. “Let’s look up ‘cleric’ in the book.”

“I don’t know how you lie like that,” said Raven with admiration. “I go red and blotchy if I try to say anything that isn’t true.”

“I must admit, I am quite proud of my acting abilities,” said Maximilian. “I can get away with a lot while my mum still doesn’t know I’m a mage.”

“When are you going to tell her?” asked Raven.

“Oh, I don’t know. Never?”

“I just can’t be a cleric,” said Wolf glumly, flicking through The Repertory of Kharakter, Art & Shade. “It sounds wrong. Surely I’m more likely to be a hunter? Or, I don’t know, an explorer. Maybe a guide . . .”

“Give that to me,” said Maximilian. “You’ll never find the bit you want. Aha. Here we are. Hmmm. Interesting. Listen to this: ‘The cleric is the wisest of all the kharakters. He or she is concerned with spiritual matters and in particular reading and putting into practice spiritual texts. At higher levels, he or she will be able to change things with prayer, or even, rarely, to create new philosophies. The cleric is skilled at meditation and connecting with the secret parts of the universe inaccessible to less spiritual seekers. The cleric may also become greatly adept at the martial arts. The cleric’s emphasis is on wisdom, although this tends to be from books and spiritual journeys rather than experience in the physical world. The cleric is good at listening to people’s problems and giving wise advice. The cleric is a deeply moral kharakter, who always does what he or she believes is right, even if this is difficult, or flies in the face of so-called “conventional wisdom.” Whenever difficult decisions must be taken, a cleric will be required. Clerics are not frightened to enter the unknown, and to take risks that might lead to new wisdom.’ ”

“Skilled at meditation?” said Wolf. “But I’ve never meditated in my life.”

“Oooh—I can teach you how to meditate,” said Raven. “I think Effie’s good at it as well. ‘Secret parts of the universe’ sounds amazing! And martial arts!”

“But I’m not spiritual,” said Wolf, still baffled. “At least, I didn’t think I was spiritual. . . .”

“The emphasis is on wisdom,” said Maximilian. “And you have been reading all those books lately.”

“Maybe,” said Wolf, distractedly. He’d started rereading the entry for cleric, in particular the different kinds of magic they could do. Candle magic. Prayer magic. Transformational prayer. Transcendent magic. Flying battles. What were those things? Wolf had never thought he would ever be able to do proper magic—he’d just thought that being a warrior meant being able to wield magical weapons and attack people’s M-currency.