I stared at the demon kids, numbness seeping through me. Dad and I were supposed to be the only demons in the world, so how—
A sudden, horrifying thought came to me: holy hell weasel, were these kids my half-siblings? Had Dad dragged me all the way to England to play out some twisted version of the Brady Bunch?
“What is this?” I choked out, meaning the other demons.
But Dad smiled proudly. “This is Council Headquarters.”
Behind me, I heard Cal let out a long breath, like he’d been holding it, as a woman with dark blond hair stepped out from the group and offered her hand. “Sophia, we’re so thrilled you’ll be with us this summer. I’m Lara.”
I shook her hand, even as I shot a glance at the demon kids. They were whispering to each other.
“Lara is a Council member, and my second-in-command, you might say,” Dad said.
Lara didn’t let go of my hand right away. “I’ve heard so much about you, both from your father and from Anastasia.”
“Mrs. Casnoff?” Oh, God, if that’s where this woman had gotten her Sophie Mercer gossip, I was surprised she’d greeted me with a handshake instead of an exorcism.
“Lara and Anastasia are sisters,” Dad said.
“Okay,” I replied, trying to process that. Then something else occurred to me. “I thought Council Headquarters was in London.”
A deep vertical line appeared between Lara’s brows. “It is. Due to some unforeseen events we’ve decided to relocate for the summer.” Now that I knew she was Mrs. Casnoff’s sister, I could see—and hear—the resemblance. I wondered if the demon teenagers were the “unforeseen events,” or if there was more messed up stuff happening. Wouldn’t have surprised me.
I turned to Dad, “You said we were going to a friend’s house. Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing me here?”
He met my gaze. “Because if I had, you wouldn’t have come.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the demon kids break away from the group and head for the massive double doors just past the terrace. The girl shot me one last look before they slipped inside.
“Sophie, this is the Council,” Dad said, drawing my attention back to the Prodigium standing there.
“That’s it?” I heard Cal say under his breath, and I had to admit, I was surprised, too. All this time I’d imagined the Council as this huge, shadowy group of Prodigium who wore long black robes or something.
I don’t know if he heard Cal, or if he could just read the looks on our faces, but Dad said, “There are normally twelve members, but now there are just the five of us currently at Thorne.”
“Where are—” Jenna started to say, but she was interrupted as one of the men stepped forward. He was older than Dad, and his white hair gleamed in the sunlight. “I’m Kristopher,” he said, his voice thick with an unidentifiable accent. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Sophia.” His eyes were icy blue instead of gold, but he was definitely a shifter. I could feel it.
Wondering if he turned into a husky dog, I turned to the next guy, craning my neck to look up at him. He must’ve been nearly seven feet tall, and his huge wings reminded me of water in oil: they were black, but they still swirled with every color, from green to blue to pink.
“Roderick,” he said as my hand disappeared into his. The woman was Elizabeth, and with her soft gray hair and little round glasses, I thought she looked like someone’s nana; but when I went to shake her hand, she yanked me to her and sniffed my hair.
Great. Another werewolf.
Dad said something about speaking with all of them later, and then, finally, we headed inside.
Jenna gasped as we moved into the foyer, and if I hadn’t still been reeling from the one-two punch of the Council on the steps, plus the demon teenagers, I probably would have too. It was one of those spaces where you felt like you could look forever and still not see everything. Hecate could be overwhelming as well, but it was nothing like this. The black-and-white marble floor underneath my feet was shiny enough to make me glad I hadn’t worn a skirt, and I was nearly blinded by the acres of gilt that covered every surface. Like Hecate, the main entrance was dominated by a staircase, but this one was a lot bigger, and carved from white limestone. The steps were covered in a carpet as red as spilled blood.
Overhead, the curved ceiling was covered in a mural, but I couldn’t quite make out what was being depicted. From the looks of it, it was violent and tragic. Other paintings around the room showed the same kind of scene: stern-faced men pointing swords at weeping women, or men charging into battle while their horses’ eyes rolled in fear.
I shivered. Even in June, it was impossible to believe you could ever be warm in a room like this. Or maybe my goose bumps were from all the magic, as though five hundred years’ worth of spells had seeped into the stone and wood.
“They have statues,” Jenna said. “In a hallway.” Sure enough, two bronze statues of veiled women guarded the massive staircase, where even more people were now lining up. They were all wearing black uniforms, and had nearly identical smiles plastered on their faces.
“What are those people doing?” Jenna whispered to me.
“I don’t know,” I replied through a frozen grin, “but I’m afraid a musical number might be involved.”
“This is our household staff,” Dad said, sweeping his arm toward the group. “Anything you need, they’ll be happy to help you with.”
“Oh,” I said weakly, feeling like my voice echoed in the cavernous room. “Great.”
Beyond the crowd, at the top of the stairs, was a large marble arch. Dad nodded toward it and said, “Our temporary offices are through there, but we can see those later. I’m sure you’d like to see your rooms now.”
I caught the edge of Dad’s sleeve and pulled him away from the group. “Actually,” I whispered, “I’d like to know where those other demons came from. Are they—they’re not my brother and sister, are they?”
Dad’s eyes widened behind his glasses. “No,” he said. “Dear Lord, no. Daisy and Nick are…We can talk more about them at another time, but no, they’re no relation to us.”
“Then why are they here?”
Dad frowned and rolled his shoulders. “Because they have nowhere else to go, and this is the safest place for them.”
That made sense. “Right. Because you guys could take them out if they went all super-demon.”
But Dad shook his head, puzzled. “No, Sophie, I meant it’s safer for them. Nick and Daisy have already had several attempts made on their lives.”
He didn’t even give me time to react before raising his hand and waving Lara over. Her heels clicked on the marble as she strode toward us. “Sophie, Lara has prepared some lovely rooms for you and your guest. Why don’t you go get acclimatized? We can talk later.”
It obviously wasn’t a request, so I just shrugged and said, “Sure.”
Lara led us across the foyer to a tall stone doorway housing yet another set of steps. As she led us up the dim passageway, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was walking into a tomb.
As we walked, Lara rattled off statistics that I only half listened to. They were unbelievable anyway.
Over a million cubic feet of living space. More than three hundred rooms, thirty-one of which were kitchens. Ninety-eight bathrooms. Three hundred and fifty-nine windows. Two thousand four hundred and seventy-six lightbulbs.
Jenna was shaking her head by the time we reached the fourth floor, where the three of us would be staying. Cal was shown to his room first, and Jenna burst into giggles when we peeked over his shoulder. The room could not have been less Cal. I mean, I guess the hunter-green bedding and drapes were kind of masculine, but the spindly gold-and-white furniture was definitely not. Nor was the giant ruffled canopy over his huge bed.
“Wow, Cal,” I said, feeling a little bit like myself for the first time since I’d walked into this crazy house. “You will be able to have some awesome slumber parties in here. All the other girls are gonna be so jealous.”
Cal shot me a half smile, and I felt some of the weirdness between us dissipate. “It’s not so bad,” he said. Then he flopped down on the bed, only to sink out of sight in the middle of it. As Cal drowned in a sea of fluffy coverlets and throw pillows, I couldn’t help but crack up.
Lara looked offended. “That bed originally belonged to the third Duke of Cornwall.”
“It’s great,” Cal said, his voice muffled. He gave her the thumbs-up, which only made me and Jenna laugh harder.
Frowning, Lara led us down the hall a little ways. She opened a door, and there was no doubt this room had been set up for Jenna. There were pink drapes, pink furniture, and even a deep rose-colored bedspread. The room overlooked a small, private garden. A breeze from the open window carried the scent of flowers. I had to admit, I was impressed. And a little surprised.
“It’s perfect,” Jenna told Lara. Her smile was bright, but her face was chalky, and I suddenly realized that Jenna hadn’t fed since we’d left Hecate. Lara must have been thinking the same thing, because she crossed the room and opened a cherrywood armoire. Inside, there was a mini-fridge stacked high with blood bags.
“O-negative,” Lara said, gesturing to the blood as though Jenna had just won a prize on a really gruesome game show. “I was told that’s your favorite.”
Jenna’s eyes darkened, and she licked her lips. “It is,” she said, her voice thick.
“Then we’ll leave you to it,” Lara said smoothly, taking my arm. “Sophie’s room is just down the hall.”
“Awesome,” Jenna replied, but she was still staring at the blood.
“See you later,” I called as we left. Jenna just shut the door and, I assumed, chowed down.
“We prepared a very special room for you,” Lara said, and her voice sounded nervous. “I hope you’ll like it.” She opened a door a few feet away from Jenna’s.
For a moment, all I could do was stand in the doorway and gape. The room wasn’t just special, it was…amazing.
A series of three floor-to-ceiling windows looked out on another garden, this one larger than Jenna’s. In the center of the garden, a fountain sprayed sparkling showers of water into the soft afternoon air. The drapes around the windows were white satin with a delicate green pattern that I thought were supposed to mimic leaves. Likewise, the wallpaper was white with long green stems of grass, like a jungle, punctuated by the occasional brightly colored flower.
The bed itself was snow white, with a pale silk canopy overhead. I had my own fainting couch, and two chairs, all covered in apple-green velvet. There were even a couple of my favorite books stacked on the nightstand, and a picture of my mom on a low bookcase by the window.
“I love it,” I told Lara, and a grin practically split her face.
“I’m so glad,” she said. “I wanted you to feel as welcome as possible.”
“Well, you did a great job,” I told her. And she had, although I thought it had less to do with me and more to do with Dad. Cal’s and Jenna’s rooms had been nice, but extra care had gone into mine. Maybe she just wanted to impress her boss.
Then I realized that she could be sucking up to me because I might be her boss one day. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was lie down. But before I could do that, I needed to talk to Mom and let her know we’d gotten here safely. “Is there a phone around here?” I asked Lara.
She pulled a cell phone out of her jacket and handed it to me. “Actually, your father wanted me to give this to you. His number is programmed in at number one, and your mother’s is number two. If you need to talk to anyone at Hecate Hall, they’re number three.”
I stared at the phone. It had been nearly a year since I’d even seen a cell phone, much less held one. They weren’t allowed at Hex Hall. I wondered if I still remembered how to text. Then Lara pointed to a gorgeous rolltop desk, and for the first time, I noticed the sleek silver laptop sitting on its surface. “Your father has also set up an e-mail address for you, so you’re welcome to communicate that way as well.”
Computers were also forbidden at Hecate, at least for students. Mrs. Casnoff supposedly had one in her private quarters. Jenna and I had spent one very boring Magical Evolution class speculating on what her e-mail address might be. Jenna thought it was probably something dull, like just her name, but my personal vote (and a ten-dollar bet) was for [email protected] I guess now I could find out.
“I’ll let you call your mother,” Lara said, heading for the door, “but if you need anything else, please just let me know.”
“Will do,” I said, but I was distracted. I’d just noticed the door leading to my private bathroom, and from what I could see, it was about three times the size of my dorm room back at Hecate.
Once Lara had slipped from the room, I called Mom. When I told her that we were at Thorne Abbey, her voice immediately turned suspicious. “He took you there? Did he say why?”
“Uh, no. I’m guessing it has to do with embracing my destiny as future head of the Council and all. You know, Take Your Demon To Work Day.”
Mom just sighed. “Okay. Well, I’m glad you’re there, safe and sound, but please tell your father to call me as soon as he gets a chance.”
I promised that I would, but as I hung up, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of exhaustion. I didn’t really want to deal with parental drama on top of everything else I was trying to process.
I was in England. With my dad. At some ridiculously huge house that was also serving as Council Headquarters, and home to two other demons. And on top of all that, I still couldn’t shake that weird feeling, almost like a premonition, that had been with me ever since leaving Hecate Hall.
Then, of course, there was the fact that my sort-of-ex-crush might be lurking around the same country, all monster-killing.
Yeah, I was definitely gonna need a nap before dealing with any of that.
I flopped on my new bed. It may never have belonged to a duke, but it had apparently been stuffed with baby angel feathers. Kicking off my shoes, I settled into the cool sheets. Everything smelled faintly of sunshine and green grass. I figured I could nap for an hour or so before I went and talked to Dad. And maybe I could ask Lara if she had a map, or better yet, a GPS for this place. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep still wondering why the name Thorne sounded so familiar to me.