out like I usually do, I took a deep breath and pictured my mom’s face. It was a memory from a year ago, just before everything went so wrong for us in Vermont. We were picking out my prom dress, and Mom was smiling, her green eyes bright.
Almost immediately, my heartbeat slowed, and I felt the magic move up more gradually. When it finally reached my fingertips, I focused on the mirror, keeping Mom’s face in my mind. “Break.”
The mirror and the ones on either side of it shattered, little slivers of glass raining to the dusty floor. But still, it was only three of them. And there had been a distinct lack of explosions. “Holy crap!” I breathed. A goofy smile spread across my face, and I realized it was the first time I’d felt magic drunk in months.
“Much better,” Dad said, waving his hand. In a few seconds, the mirrors were repaired. “Of course, the more you practice, the better you’ll get. And the better you are at controlling your powers, the less probable it is you will ever hurt anyone.”
Now the euphoric feeling gave way to a nervous, fluttering feeling. “So you’re saying that if I mastered this magical tai chi thing, I could keep from being like…like Alice?”
“I’m saying it greatly reduces the chances, yes. I told you, Sophie. You have many more options than the Removal.”
Because I couldn’t think of anything to say, I just nodded and wiped my suddenly sweaty hands on my thighs. Practicing deep breaths and picturing people I loved seemed a lot better than having magical runes cut into my skin, but it was almost too much to believe that it could be this easy.
“Of course, the choice is yours, and you don’t have to decide anything today,” Dad said. “But still, just…tell me you’ll consider it.”
“Yeah,” I replied, but the word came out kind of squeaky. I cleared my throat. “Yeah,” I said again. “Of course I will.”
I expected Dad to do his usual brisk thing and say something like, “Excellent. I will anxiously await your pronouncement on this significant matter.” Instead, he just looked relieved and said, “Good.”
Thinking we were done, I moved toward the door, but Dad stepped in front of it. “We’re not quite finished yet.”
I blinked at him, surprised. “I could try to break some more mirrors if you really want me to, Dad, but I’m kind of wiped out. Between last night and today, there’s been an awful lot of magic flyin’ around for me, and —”
He shook his head. “No, not that. We have one more matter to discuss.”
I didn’t need my new psychic senses to tell me something bad was coming. “What?”
Dad took a deep breath and folded his arms. “I want you to tell me about Archer Cross.”
chapter 18
I stopped myself just before I reached into my pocket, but it still felt like the coin was burning a hole in there. My mind flew in a million different directions. How could Dad know that Archer was there last night? Did he know I’d taken the coin? Archer had said he’d use it to find me. Maybe Dad wanted to use it to lure him here.
But before I could have a mental breakdown, Dad said, “I know it’s uncomfortable to talk about, but it’s very important that I have a clearer understanding of what happened last semester.”
“Oh,” I breathed, hoping it didn’t sound too much like a sigh of relief. “I told you. Mrs. Casnoff made me write a statement to the Council a few weeks after it happened. Everything’s in there.”
“I read that. And neither I, nor the rest of the Council, believe it contains the entire truth.”
I made a sound that I’d like to say was a cry of indignant outrage, but it was actually closer to a bleat. Probably because Dad was right: that stupid statement didn’t even begin to touch the whole truth.
“Your entanglement with Archer Cross—”
“We were neverentangled,” I spluttered.
“Listen to me!” Dad snapped, and I shut my mouth with an audible click. He lowered his voice as he continued. “Did you see Archer at Shelley’s last night?”
For just a second, I thought about lying. But there was something in the way Dad was watching me that indicated he already knew the answer. Lie, and this whole thing would just get that much worse.
“Only for a minute.” I said the words in a rush, like the faster I got them out there, the easier it would be. “But Dad, he protected me from the other Eyes. He could’ve given me to them, or killed me himself, but he didn’t. And I think there’s something weird with him being in The Eye, because he’s still using magic—”
Dad grabbed my shoulders. His grip wasn’t all that tight, and it’s not like he shook me or anything, but something in his gaze made the words dry up in my throat.
“You can never see him again. I’m saying this both as your father and as head of the Council. It isimperative that you have no further contact with Archer Cross.”
I knew all of that. But there was something about having it actually said out loud that physically hurt. “I get it,” I said, looking down. “I’m a demon, he’s an Eye. If we got together, think of how awkward family holidays would be. Magic and daggers flying around, knocking over the Christmas tree…”
Dad didn’t crack a smile at my joke, but I couldn’t blame him. I think the fact that I practically choked out the words killed some of the humor.
“It’s more than just that,” Dad said, releasing me and stepping back. He sighed. “Sophie, Archer Cross is perhaps the greatest threat Prodigium have ever faced.”
I stared at him. “Okay, I know that The Eye freaks everyone out, but I saw them in action last night, Dad. They’re notthat scary, and Archer’s one of the youngest ones.”
“Yes, but he’s also a warlock. In the past, The Eye has used the element of surprise and sheer numbers to hunt us down, much like what you saw last night. But if they were also capable of using magic? We’d lose the only advantage we have. The idea that L’Occhio di Dio could recruit one of our own is terrifying to Prodigium. It’s why Archer Cross has to be found, and dealt with.”
“You mean killed,” I said flatly.
“If that’s the Council’s ruling.”
I walked over to the nearest window. It was warped with age, distorting my view of yet another garden. This one wasn’t nearly as pretty as the others. The fountain was covered in moss, and one of the stone benches had cracked in half.
Dad came up behind me. In the glass, I watched his hands hover over my shoulders before coming to rest at his sides. “Sophie, I know this is difficult to understand, but these are very dangerous times for us. When we arrived, you asked why the Council was here at Thorne Abbey instead of in London.”
“Lara said there had been some ‘unforeseen events,’” I said without turning around.
His eyes met mine in the window, our faces wavy. “Yes. Namely, that L’Occhio di Dio burned Council Headquarters to the ground two months ago.”
Now I did turn around. “What?”
“That’s why there are only five Council members here at Thorne. The other seven died in the attack.”
Even though I hadn’t know any of the Council members, I felt his words like a punch in my gut. I couldn’t think of anything to say but, “Why didn’t we hear about that at Hecate?”
Dad turned away from me and walked over to one of the tiny gilt-and-velvet chairs that lined the walls.
He sighed as he sank into it. “Because we’re working very hard to keep that knowledge secret. If it got out, it would cause panic, and we simply can’t afford that right now.”
He looked back at me. “Can I be brutally honest with you, Sophie?”
It would make a nice change, I considered saying. But I looked at his sagging shoulders, the naked fear on his face. Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Please.”
“Do you remember the war we talked about, between The Eye and Prodigium? It seems we are on the verge of another, but one that has the potential to be far, far worse. The Eye did not attack Council Headquarters on their own. They had help from the Brannicks.” He paused, his eyes searching my face. “Do you know anything about the Brannicks?”
“Irish girls, red hair,” I replied, remembering a picture of them from Mrs. Casnoff’s “People Who Want to Kill
