On that night, Ted managed to bump up his numbers to ten cultists altogether.
He was pleased.
There was the matter of getting the cultists to wear the symbol of the solar deity, but that would have to be done later, once there had been a strong bond and a sense of belonging established.
Ted met up with an exhausted Eknie.
"Poor girl," he said, even though he felt no pity for her. "He must have been an insufferable oaf for you to look like that. And I assume you won."
Eknie got all quiet and averted her eyes.
"I win, I always win. I am patient. I build my castle for you and I wait."
Then there was no more opening up to one another, no more pretentious talk of castles or anything like that, just a simple briefing of how a bullet had unfortunately pierced the heart of the brothel keeper as he had defended his women against a group of jealous scalliwags. Even though Ted could have normally immersed himself in the lie, now he was more interested in the truth behind it.
If it was true that Eknie had caught such tender feelings, he would have to use them to his advantage. There was no way he was breaking this thing off now, with the cult and the deity breathing down on his neck. No, he needed Eknie to be his dog still. He had to figure out a way to give her enough to work with, yet not too much, not marriage, at least, not yet.
Ted shuddered at the thought of her castles and her patience. He was not a marriage-minded man at all. He would have rather had a simple unmarried relationship with a woman he barely knew. Instead, people wanted depth, they wanted to know inane details like how their loved ones liked their coffee and finally, when no form of torture was enough any longer, they wanted to get married. Such stability was the death of wild, impulsive and reckless behavior. No more sneaking into a saloon without having to provide a plausible explanation – no more degeneracy. Marriage was the foundation of even Neulian society. Ted, as a sworn enemy of everything that was even remotely good for the future of mankind, was also strongly opposed to the thought of a commitment that supposedly transcended regular feelings.
He sighed.
He would have to bring her feelings up sooner or later, but he intended to do so on his own terms.
"Someone doubted my sincerity today," he said, finally remembering the odd one out at the club who had expressed negative opinions on all matters concerning the science and art of reading stars.
It had probably been a mistake, bringing such deep things into the discussion, but Ted had to break some eggs. The souls were not going to scramble themselves.
The doubt had arisen when Ted had explained the ways he could use to transform a star divination into a financial forecast. The man had said that such things were highly unethical, that financial decisions on a grand scale had to be based on truthful and accurate statements.
His name had been Wernon. Ted was pretty sure about it. He rarely forgot anyone he disliked so strongly.
Wernon had been against the manipulation of the currents of trade. He had said that they were too complicated already. In his opinion, playing one's cards right was all about the progress of the entire mankind.
Such lofty ideas were quickly shot down at the club, and this had not been an exception. The room had been so full of realists, of wiser men, that Ted still chuckled as he explained the victory of reason over folly.
It was impossible to be that nice to everyone, and Wernon had to see it, sooner or later. He had been an accountant earlier in his life, after all.
"But I did get some clove cigarettes out of it, so it's all good," Ted finished and gave a few of the delicious tar-filled sticks to Eknie, just as a little treat. "And we are at ten now. Three fireflies. Seven dragons."
10/10 000. That sounded a lot better than the previous numbers.
"You know, that could be the kind of controversy that we can build a solid reputation on," Eknie said, sounding like she had forgotten her lovely and terrifying notions. "It's still something that makes us distinctive. By the way '- have we finalized the name yet? The public or the secret one?"
"There is only need for one name," Ted said. "The Solar Light Society. I just threw things around to see what would stick."
Eknie grinned. "You were not wrong when you chose that. Splendid. I tell you, splendid."
"What you said about taking a stance…"
Ted hesitated. He was about to ask for advice and consider it seriously. It was not something he liked to do too often.
"How do we fit that thing about helping meteorologists into serving the best interests of rich businessmen?" he finally asked.
"I think the key will be the need to appear educated." Eknie released all of her gloriously silky hair at once from the tight bun. It looked like she had not touched a single living being during the entire night, however mentally taxing said night had been.
"You know…meteorology, that is high brow stuff. I barely understand a thing besides just looking outside and seeing clouds. And many people admire intelligence, do you see?"
Ted nodded along as he watched Eknie fall down on the creaky old couch.
"It is why they flock to places where they can see themselves as the smartest and the most capable. But the thing you need to do, Ted, is to fool them into thinking that your presence is enough to elevate them. Mere words will only get us so far. You need to practice your cult leader smile…and I need some new dresses to match that intention."
For once, someone else was right.