“Yes.”
“Then your young friend here will be able to see you despite the effect of the potion.”
“What are you saying?”
“It has to do with something called ‘rays of visibility.’ There’s an explanation of how it works, in one of the other volumes. I can’t claim to understand the details, but it’s sort of like seeing the afterimage of a thing you’ve been staring at, even when you close your eyes. A person who sees you every day, whose eyes have been attuned to your rays of visibility, will still see you even though others can’t.”
Antipater frowned. “That rather puts a limit on the potion’s practical use.”
Kerynis shrugged. “It means a man can’t make himself invisible and sneak past his wife, that’s true. But the same man can go out in a crowd of strangers and not be seen.”
Antipater nodded thoughtfully. “So if I use the potion and venture out into the common room, no one there will be able to see me?”
“Correct.”
“What about Galatea, the serving girl?” I said. “She’s seen Antipater lots of times over the last couple of days.”
“That’s not long enough to absorb his rays of visibility. That can take months.”
“I’m ready!” Antipater moved to unstop the bottle again, but Kerynis gripped his hand.
“Not quite yet. Let’s make sure we’re in agreement first. Did you bring the sum that was talked about?”
Antipater patted the pouch inside his tunic, producing a muffled clinking sound, then pulled out a small but bulging moneybag. “All here. You can count it if you want.”
“I intend to. And all in Tyrian shekels? I don’t want foreign coins.”
“It’s just as your man requested.”
Kerynis nodded. “Put the money on the table. And next to that, I’ll put the Books of Secret Wisdom.” He lugged the satchel onto the table. “The books for the money. That’s the deal.”
“Understood,” said Antipater. “Now let’s get on with it.”
I had never seen Antipater so eager. I watched as he unstoppered the vial, carefully poured a couple of drops of the oily brown unguent onto the back of his hand, then touched his tongue to the drops. “Like that?” he said, peering at Kerynis.
“That should do it. It may be a few minutes before you feel the effects. Have a look at the books while you’re waiting. And I’ll count the money.”
Antipater rummaged through the satchel. Attached to each of the leather cylinders was a tag that identified the title or author of the scroll inside. Meanwhile, Kerynis opened the moneybag and poured the coins onto the table, then began arranging them in little piles. I gasped at the amount of silver Antipater was ready to hand over. How had he come up with so much money?
Kerynis saw my reaction. He held up one of the coins so that it caught the light of the lamps. “The silver shekel of Tyre! Is there anything prettier? Handsome Melkart in profile on one side, and on the other, a proud eagle clutching a palm branch. Who’d want a bunch of smelly old books when he could have these instead? But to each his own, I say. So if my little collection of books is worth it to you, I’m happy to make the trade.”
Suddenly Antipater dropped the leather cylinder he was holding and sat bolt upright. Kerynis looked at him and nodded. “There, it’s beginning to take effect. You’re a little hazy around the edges already.”
“Yes, I feel it,” whispered Antipater. “A warm sensation—not unpleasant—but decidedly different …”
I squinted at him. “I’m not seeing a change.”
“Nor will you, young man,” said Kerynis. “Just as I explained. By Melkart, would you look at him fade away! It amazes me, every time.”
“Has it happened?” said Antipater, rising from his chair. “Am I invisible?” He moved toward the door.
Kerynis continued to stare at the spot where Antipater had been sitting. “Go into the common room if you like. See how the people there react. But remember, it’ll last only a few minutes.”
When Antipater pushed open the door to leave the room, Kerynis gave a start and uttered a mild curse. He shook his head and laughed. “I told myself I wouldn’t be startled, but invisible people make you jump.”
“I should go with him.” I began to get up.
Kerynis waved me back. “Let the old man have his fun.”
I looked at the piles of silver coins on the table, and the cylinders full of scrolls, and decided not to leave the room after all. There were three exits from the room, one leading to the common room, one to the kitchen, and another leading somewhere else. If no one stayed to watch him, what was to stop Kerynis from absconding with the money and the books?
He held up one of the coins and whistled. “Would you look at that! A Melkart without a nose.”
“What are you talking about?”
“These are very rare, my young friend. Apparently, something broke on the original mold, and on some coins, Melkart has no nose. Once they saw the problem, they stopped making them, so you don’t see these very often.”
“Are they valuable?”
He snorted. “No more valuable than any other shekel of the same weight. If anything, less valuable. Who wants a Melkart with no nose in his coin purse?”
While he continued to fondle the coins, doting over them like a boy with toy soldiers, I took a closer look at the so-called Books of Secret Wisdom. I chanced to pull out a scroll that gave instructions for changing men into women, and vice versa. This was a subject with which I had some acquaintance, having witnessed such an alleged transformation at the sacred spring of Salmacis in Halicarnassus. I was scanning the text to see if it mentioned Salmacis, when I realized that Kerynis had leaned forward, bringing his head close to mine, and was reading the text upside down.
“Interested in becoming a girl?” he said, flashing an ingratiating smile. “Perhaps just for the night?”
I cleared my throat. “Not with the likes of you around.”
He laughed. “Come, come, young Roman—you are Roman, aren’t you? There’s no mistaking the accent. What do you have against me? I’m just an honest fellow trying to make an honest transaction.”
“I see. And how did you come to possess these Books of Secret Wisdom?”
“Ah, now that is none of your business. But I can assure you that they are absolutely authentic. Do you think I’d try to cheat a distinguished fellow like your traveling companion? He’s a lot older and wiser than you, my young friend, and he seems to trust me.”
I glowered at him, trying to think of a response, then gave a start as the door opened and Antipater stepped back inside, grinning from ear to ear.
Kerynis heard the noise and looked toward the doorway. He stared blankly for a moment, then squinted. “Ah, yes, it’s starting to wear off. I can vaguely see your outline. How did it go?”
“Fantastic!” declared Antipater. “I was completely invisible. No one could see me at all. It made me feel quite … naughty. I couldn’t resist playing a few tricks on people.”
“What sort of tricks?” I said, dismayed at the thought of my old tutor behaving like a schoolboy.
“Never mind, Gordianus.” Antipater straightened his shoulders, as if to shrug off his puerile behavior. “The important thing is that the formula works. The implications are astounding. The value of such a tool for military purposes, or for espionage—a man could change the course of history!”
“But, Teacher, do you not recall the lesson of Icarus? If men were meant to fly, the gods would have given us wings. And if we were meant to be invisible—”
“You must try it yourself!” said Antipater, thrusting the vial toward me.
“What?”
“Yes, give it a try,” said Kerynis.
I stared at the vial for a long moment, then took it from Antipater. I pulled out the stopper and took a whiff. As Antipater had said, the smell was vile.
“Go on,” said Antipater. “Two drops on the back of your hand.”