Julius Purcell is a male peculiar and one of seven prophesized light-eaters meant to stop Caul and emancipate peculiardom.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Julius was adopted by an ymbryne at a young age, but thinks his parents were from Ghana. He had been shuffled around from loop to loop for most of his life, his most recent home being in China. For a peculiar (and one of seven prophesized peculiars), he had had a relatively sheltered life.
The Desolations of Devil's Acre[]
A few days prior to Jacob Portman and his friends' arrival to Miss Tern's loop, Julius arrived there with his ymbryne, Miss Petrel. There, he met fellow light-eaters Sebbie Mayfield and Hadi Akhtar.
Just as Jacob and his friends enter the room he and Sebbie were in, Julius steals all the light from the room, with Sebbie providing a test to check that Noor Pradesh is also one of the seven. After Noor passes, he introduces himself and Sebbie. Neither of the two express much concern over what the prophecy entails for them, nor over Hadi leaving for a bit, with his ymbryne having not told him much. He and Sebbie had not even known that the prophecy involved Caul, and had up to that moment continued to believe him dead. Julius tells Jacob and his friends that they will ask Pensevus about the prophecy when the doll returns, and starts everyone on the lunch that Miss Tern had set out for them all.
While everyone eats, Noor questions Julius and Sebbie about their lives. Julius briefly discusses his suit with Horace, and talks with Millard about loop geography. He and Sebbie both say that they have never actually encountered hollowgasts, with their ymbrynes protecting them well against those and wights. Jacob asks Julius again on when Pensevus, with Sophie, was coming back, to which Julius, with fraying patience, assures him soon. He later proposes a demonstration of the present light-eaters' abilities, with which Jacob can't tell if Julius wants to show off, or size up Noor.
Julius joyfully greets his ymbryne when she returns with Sophie and Pensevus. When the light eaters realize that any one of them can defeat Caul without the other six, Julius wonders why Miss Petrel says that all of the ones left are still needed. He possibly hides that he is starting to get nervous after Penny says that the light-eaters have to eat Caul's soul. He shows a bit of shock that the ymbrynes at Devil's Acre can't even sleep in order to maintain their shield.
Just before the peculiars are about to head out to the membrane tear of the loop that would get them to the present, two wights and a hollow hold them up. The wight with a flamethrower catches Julius's hat on fire, and he has to beat it out on the floor. The other wight warns him not to take the light from the room. The flamethrower wight, who is actually Horatio, kills the other, which releases the leashed hollow. One of the hollow's tongues handcuffs Julius to forcibly prevent him from darkening the room. Luckily, Horatio subdues the hollow, and leads the peculiars out of the house and to the horses that will take them to the membrane tear. Julius rides with Horace.
He and Horace are at the end of the line when the horses are forced into single file. Julius attempts to take the light from behind the group to blind Murnau, who is also in the loop and pursuing them all, but nearly flies off his horse, only prevented because of Horace pulling him back down. He gets another opportunity later on, telling Horace to hold him tight before successfully taking light from the area. After the peculiars get a ride in a tank, Julius spits out the light he accumulated inside him through the tank's largest gun barrel's loading port, so that the soldier driver can see where they are going.
While the group is trying to figure out how they can get past the gunfire, Julius suggests that he can eat all the light in the area again, but Millard says that the soldiers will just blanket the air with bullets. When Miss Petrel is killed, Julius's grief and anger brings him to break the bone clock that had temporarily stopped time for them. He collapses, and has to be carried by Bronwyn. He continues to mourn after the group escapes the loop.
After the group boards a train, he and Horace quietly talk to each other. After a while, he says to the group that Caul will keep on trying to kill them all.
While Millard is calling Miss Peregrine to let her know what happened, Julius scowls in displeasure when Millard refers to him and Sebbie as "spares." The group later encounters Caul, who melts into a black puddle that begins pulsing blue light. Julius tries to take this light, but a long arm shoots out of it and starts strangling him. Sophie and Pensevus save him when Penny bites and severs the arm.
He is treated with Mother Dust's dust after the group manages to escape, but calmly states that he can feel Caul's poison spreading. When the group splits up, Bronwyn takes him, Sebbie, and Sophie to the safe house near Devil's Acre's loop entrance, from where they are collected and brought into the Acre. Julius does not fully recover from the attack during the rest of the book and is therefore unable to participate further in the battles against Caul. He was not mentioned after Caul's defeat and presumably survived.
Description[]
Physical Appearance[]
Julius has smooth dark skin and dresses "immaculately", being introduced wearing a pinstriped suit, bowler hat, and leather gloves. As he tells Horace, his suit was made by a tailor in Bamako. Like Horace, Julius is very well-dressed.
Personality[]
Julius has a high opinion of himself, particularly the strength of his peculiarity. He states that his own capacity is second to none. This is perhaps one of the reasons why he isn't as worried about the prophecy as Jacob and his friends are (along with not knowing what being even close to a hollowgast is like), and upon learning that technically only one light-eater is needed to defeat Caul, says that he is strong enough and doesn't need help from anyone (backup light-eaters). Jacob calls him a show off while he demonstrates his peculiarity, but Julius's power does happen to be truthfully quite powerful. Despite this, he does still show fear at times.
He cares deeply about his ymbryne, and took her death very hard.
Like Horace, he is appreciative of fashion.
Peculiarity[]
Julius is a light-eater, which means he can eat and project light. His ability described as fearsome by Jacob, Julius is able to darken huge spaces in a flash, although he can’t hold light he gathers inside himself for as long as Noor or Sebbie can. He also says that his darkness is "as thick as pea soup." Jacob says that Julius is one of the most powerful peculiars Jacob has ever met.
Relationships[]
Horace Somnusson[]
Julius and Horace first meet in Miss Tern's loop. Horace compliments Julius's suit, and they find a common interest in fashionable clothes. They ride on the same horse while escaping from Murnau and hollows, and by the time the peculiars get on a train in the French town they have escaped into, they have evidently gotten closer. Horace comforts him while Julius mourns Miss Petrel, and they sit very close together, heads touching now and then, while they talk on the train. Jacob later notices that they interlaced their fingers.
After Julius is almost choked to death by Caul, Horace physically supports Julius and later makes a paste out of Mother Dust's dust for him. While everyone's waiting the night in Bentham's House, Horace refuses to leave Julius's bedside. While implied they have feelings for each other, it is never directly stated.