Mr. Somebody didn’t say anything.

“You have come to meet your new Master, the Bead.”

This was not an particularly astonishing snippet of news. Masters came and went, fluttering like moths from person to person. But the old man had to admit: usually such switches did not occur at 2:00 A.M. and were not announced by disembodied voices.

“Er, who are you?” Mr. Somebody asked cautiously.

“Mr. Nobody, naturally. I’ve been waiting to meet you for a very long time.”

“Yes.”

There was an awkward silence which could not have lasted for more than ten seconds, but seemed quite long indeed.

“Uh, where’s the ‘Bead,’ then, exactly?”

“Oh, he should arrive shortly.”

No sooner said then done. An ear-shattering yowl pierced the suffocating blackness, and beams of pure white light danced before Mr. Somebody’s eyes, blinding him with their strength. A voice, strange and utterly indescribable, spoke.

“APPRENTICE?”