Chapter 12

Alex answers Mercy’s barrage of questions about Lethe and deflects teasing about Darlington before leaving for Sterling Library. She meets an exhausted Dawes, who warns that Gauntlet attempts in the record often ended in madness or death. Despite fear, they agree to investigate further as “just research.”

Outside Sterling, Dawes identifies the eight scribes carved over the entrance and the Egyptian inscription chosen by Dr. Ludlow Bull, a Locksmith. Inside, they trace symbolic leads through the lavish, churchlike decor. A mural of Alma Mater links to the clue about loving books more than mother, which directs them toward the Tree of Knowledge arch and a corridor marked by memento mori imagery.

Along the corridor, a grotesque showing Death with a student echoes “high converse with the mighty dead,” pushing them onward. In a vestibule of odd windows, they seize on “Jost Amman” as Darlington’s punning hint—“just a man.” The trail seems right but incomplete, with doors leading to the courtyard and offices offering no obvious next step.

Dawes shares Gauntlet lore: four pilgrims—the soldier, scholar, priest, and prince—must each locate a doorway, with the soldier completing the circuit. She proposes performing the ritual on Halloween for maximum efficacy but acknowledges they still need four killers (or equivalents) and a guardian. Alex balks at the risks and timeline, but the options are dwindling.

Alex questions how a Gauntlet could stay secret if built by Bones and Keys; Dawes theorizes Lethe embedded it in Sterling under the guise of oversight, possibly using architect James Gamble Rogers. The notion that records were erased makes the whole endeavor feel like a trap. Before they can continue, Turner calls: there’s another body at Morse, and Alex leaves to meet him, the danger escalating.