Charmed Life - Diana Wynne Jones [84]
“Is it really true about silver, then?” Janet said.
“For me, yes,” said Chrestomanci.
“Yes, poor darling,” Millie said, smiling at him. “It’s so awkward with money. He can only handle pound notes and coppers.”
“He has to give us our pocket money in pennies, if Michael hasn’t got it,” said Roger. “Imagine sixty pennies in your pocket.”
“The really difficult thing is mealtimes,” said Millie. “He can’t do a thing with a knife and fork in his hands—and Gwendolen would do awful things during dinner.”
“How stupid!” said Janet. “Why on earth don’t you use stainless steel cutlery?”
Millie and Chrestomanci looked at one another. “I never thought of it!” said Millie. “Janet, my love, it’s a very good thing you’re staying here!”
Janet looked at Cat and laughed. And Cat, though he was still a little lonely and tearful, managed to laugh too.
PERFECTBOUND
E-BOOK EXCLUSIVE EXTRAS
WHO IS CRESTOMANCI
WHO IS CHRESTOMANCI? The question should really be What is Chrestomanci? For, as was revealed in Charmed Life, Chrestomanci is actually the title of a job and not a person’s name at all. The Chrestomanci is employed by the Government to monitor and control the use of magic throughout the related worlds.
This is not the most popular of jobs, especially with the less-than-scrupulous characters who tend to be tempted by any opportunity to misuse power, and particularly if it can earn them lots of money or an exciting life. But using magic is always dangerous, and it always has consequences, so even the best-intentioned witch or warlock needs help and guidance from time to time. Not only that, but there are plenty of ordinary people in the worlds without even a whiff of magical ability, and they need someone to make sure that the magic users don’t get their own way all of the time — which is where Chrestomanci comes in.
As well as looking after people, Chrestomanci also has to protect the worlds they live in. Many spells need certain ingredients to work properly, just like recipes — which is fine if they are items like six drops of dew from a yew tree at dawn, or a handful of grass from inside a stone circle, or even dried mouse droppings. But some spells call for substances such as dragon’s blood or mermaid scales. These are illegal products, because of the potential harm caused by both the collection and careless use of such dark materials. But this also means there is a thriving black market in “exotic supplies,” so Chrestomanci and his team have to be constantly on the alert for smugglers and underhand dealers.
Of course, not everyone is qualified to take on the post of Chrestomanci — it’s not a job you can simply apply for. Only the strength and special skills of an enchanter can possibly begin to attempt to tackle the task. But Chrestomanci is no ordinary enchanter — he has to be a nine-lifed enchanter. Most people, whatever their magical status, just have one life each — but they also have counterparts, or doubles, in other worlds. People with nine lives (and they are exceedingly rare) exist only in their own world, with no counterparts anywhere else, which means that all the talents and energies and abilities that would have been spread out across the others are all concentrated in the one person. This makes Chrestomanci a very powerful enchanter, indeed.
One of the most challenging tasks a Chrestomanci has to undertake is finding his successor — the next Chrestomanci. This is never easy, not only because of the fact that nine-lifed enchanters are exceedingly rare, but they might not even be living in the same world! They also are usually completely unaware that they have more than the usual number of lives and often demonstrate a distinct lack of magical ability in childhood. They are often discovered for the first time when they begin to lose their lives. For example, if on Monday somebody falls from an extremely high tower, or is consumed by fire, or gets