Free Life Eternal by Yvonne Woon Page A

floor. People whispered as I approached the front of the room. The headmaster beamed and took out a small brooch in the shape of a cat.
    “The cat is the mascot of St. Clément, and the symbol of Monitors all across the world,” he said as he pinned it to the collar of my shirt. “Now you and the cat are one.”
    “Thanks,” I said, trying not to blush.
    “Congratulations,” he said. “And welcome to St. Clément.” Under the noise of everyone clapping, the headmaster added, “Could you meet me in my office Monday afternoon after your classes?”
    “Sure,” I said, giving him a curious look. But he only smiled. I was about to return to my seat when he stopped me.
    “And now Renée will lead us in the recital of the Cartesian Oath.”
    I felt a wave of nausea pass over me as the entire dining hall rose, their benches scraping against the floor.
    “Drafted by our ancestors in the spirit of René Descartes, the Cartesian Oath is the sole pledge all Monitors must take in their training. It is our constitution, our ethical standard, our déclaration des droits. ”
    Ethical standard? I was the last person who should be reading this aloud. I shook my head at him, but he merely smiled and handed me a roll of paper. “If you would please repeat after Renée.”
    I could feel the girls from my floor glaring at me. Trying to will my hands to stop shaking, I unrolled the paper.
    “Go on,” the headmaster said softly.
    I cleared my throat. “‘As a Monitor, I swear by O-Osiris’” —my voice cracked—“‘god of judgment and the afterlife, that, to the best of my ability, I shall bury all deceased humans within ten days of death, to prevent reanimation, even if the deceased is my son, daughter, sibling, friend, or—or…or lover,’” I said finally, apologizing to Dante in my head as I listened to the drone of my classmates repeating my words.
    “‘If I should sense the presence of an Undead, I shall seek him out and evaluate his rate of decay,’” I continued. My eyes rested on Brett’s as I watched him mouth my words and give me an encouraging smile.
    “‘Should he be desperate, dangerous, or close to complete putrefaction, I shall endeavor to capture him and bring him to the High Monitor Court for examination and trial.’”
    Clementine stared at me from the center of the room, her face wrought with jealousy.
    “‘I shall never bury an Undead until he has proven himself guilty of murder or has—has—’” The headmaster nodded at me to continue. “‘Has threatened my life.’”
    When the voices stopped, I unrolled the paper even more and continued. “‘When I do bury an Undead, I shall do so promptly, painlessly, and in accordance with Monitor ritual, with no vengeance or brutality.
    “‘I shall never announce myself to Plebeians or Undead. And finally, I understand that every being on earth has the capacity to cause pain, even Monitors, and that I will use my power and training with the caution and consideration given to my own life.’”
    There was a lull in the room as we uttered the last phrase. Without a word, Headmaster LaGuerre gave me a slight bow indicating that I could sit down, and the hum of conversations recommenced.
    After dinner, everyone parted around me as we filed out of the dining hall. I tried to blend in, covering the pin on my collar with my scarf. The lobby was crowded with girls, all clamoring to look at something on the bulletin board.
    “What’s going on?” I asked a girl standing near the perimeter. She started when she saw me, as if I’d frightened her. “It’s the class rank list. They just posted it, along with our class schedules.”
    Just then Clementine LaGuerre stormed through, glaring at me as she pushed past my shoulder and up the stairs. I made my way to the front and flipped through a folder of schedules until I found the sheet with my name at the top. It read as follows:
     
    WINTERS, RENÉE: JUNIOR YEAR SCHEDULE
    History of Monitors
    Strategy