CHAPTER 16

Somehow, I got through dinner. Well, I pushed food around on my plate. Jenna and Archer did the same. In fact, as I looked around, all I saw were full plates. Maybe it was fear or nervousness keeping everyone else from eating, but for me, it was this weird mixture of rage and elation. Lara Casnoff had taken so much away from me, and my powers ached to do some serious smiting. But at the same time, the fact that she was here meant that it was very likely the grimoire was here, too. I was lost in thoughts of where the book could be when Lara stood up, clapped her hands, and announced, “If you’re all finished eating, we can get on with the presentation.”

“Do you think there’s going to be a dance number?” Jenna muttered as we shifted our chairs to face the front of the room. I always appreciated a good dance number joke, but it was hard to chuckle as I stared at the woman who had tried to kill me more than once. I willed her to meet my eyes, for some kind of acknowledgment of what had happened this summer. But she never did.

I felt an almost overpowering sense of déjà vu as I sat in my chair, Archer next to me, and watched Lara Casnoff stand in front of the room. Had it really been only a year ago that Archer and I had sat in this same room, practically strangers? Back when I’d thought I was just a regular witch. Back when Hex Hall had been a school and not some kind of prison.

Lara raised her hands in welcome. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here,” she said, her voice ringing out loud and clear in the silent room. All of the students were very still. There was none of the unrest and anger that had filled us earlier today. Maybe it’s because we all wanted answers. Or maybe we were just afraid we’d get eaten, too.

“First of all, let me apologize for your current accommodations,” Lara continued, pacing the front of the room. Her heels reverberated as loudly as gunshots. “We’re funneling a great deal of magic into your protection here at Hecate Hall, and I’m afraid that’s affected the house itself. But then, this school was never meant to be a five-star hotel, was it?” She was still smiling, but there was hardness in her eyes now. “In any case, I’m Lara Casnoff, and I will be working with Anastasia Casnoff as headmistress for this year. Now, I’m sure you have many questions. But first, I think it’s time we tell you the truth about events that occurred this summer.”

A glimmering speck appeared beside her hip, and I knew what was coming next. Sure enough, the speck grew until it was a huge, shimmering screen. And then we were all shading our eyes as fire raced across the screen. “This is Council Headquarters in London,” Lara said over the sound of the flames. “Several months ago, L’Occhio di Dio, along with a large group of Brannicks, attacked. Over half of the Council was killed, and this was the result.” She gestured to the burning building.

Lara’s voice rang out again. “And then, only a few months later, The Eye attacked our secondary headquarters at Thorne Abbey.” On the screen, the house loomed up, as immense and impressive as it had been the first day I’d seen it. Looking at it, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. I’d been happy there. I’d also been freaked out and nearly killed more than once, but still. It was where I’d gotten to know more about my history. It’s where I’d gotten to know Dad.

Once again, bright orange light nearly blinded me as Thorne Abbey was also engulfed in flames. “Thorne Abbey was destroyed. Anastasia and I were lucky to escape with our lives. Unfortunately, the Head of the Council, James Atherton, was not so lucky.”

Several heads swiveled in my direction, and I worked to keep my face impassive. When I looked from the screen over to Lara, I saw that she was staring right at me.

“There can be no doubt now that we’re at war with our enemies,” Lara said. “The Eye and the Brannicks will not be happy until all Prodigium have been wiped from the face of the earth.” She clapped once, and the screen shrunk back down to a tiny dot, and then vanished altogether. “And that is why all of you are here.”

I realized I was sitting on the edge of my seat.

“Why were all of you sent to Hecate Hall originally?” Lara asked. At first, I thought she didn’t want an actual answer, but then she nodded at one of the younger witches.

The girl looked around before answering, “Because we did something wrong. Exposed our powers to the human world.”

Lara shook her head. “It isn’t that your magic was wrong,” she said. “It’s that your magic was strong. Powerful. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. And it’s certainly not something for which you should be punished. You”—she spread her arms out wide—“all of you, are the most valuable people in Prodigium society. You feel as though your powers are out of control, but they’re not. They’re simply too much for you to handle at times.”

It was close to something Cal had said to me back at Thorne Abbey, that my spells weren’t destructive so much as “too big.”

“So are you going to teach us to control them?” I heard someone call out.

Lara’s smile spread across her face, so big and bright that it was actually terrifying. “Better than that. You’ve all been brought here for a very special purpose.”

“This isn’t going to be good, is it?” Jenna whispered.

“Maybe the special purpose involves us eating brownies?” I suggested. “Or, like, wrangling unicorns? That may actually be possible.”

Jenna studied me. “You must be really freaked out.”

I was. And it turned out, I was right to be, because the next thing Lara said was, “For hundreds of years, Prodigium have been looking for a way to make themselves stronger. More powerful. Invincible, even.” Once again, her eyes met mine. “And now we’ve found a way. Clarice?”

The Vandy got up from the table, a small velvet bag in her hand. She reached inside it and pulled out a crumpled and ragged sheet of paper, holding it over her head so that everyone could see. My magic started slam-dancing inside my chest.

“What is it?” Archer asked me.

I didn’t get a chance to answer. “This piece of paper is the key to our salvation,” Lara continued. “On it is the most powerful spell ever created. It can imbue each and every one of you with the most powerful magic in the universe. And not only will this spell keep you safe from our enemies, it will allow you to obliterate them once and for all.”

Suddenly, both Archer’s and Jenna’s hands clamped down on my wrists.

“What?” I whispered, looking back and forth between them.

“You were about to get up,” Archer replied through clenched teeth, never taking his eyes of Lara.

“And then you were probably going to start yelling about how she’s going to turn us into demons,” Jenna added, so low I could barely hear her. “And we’re lying low, remember?”

They were right. And Lara was already watching me, that same creepy smile curving her lips. She wanted me to jump up and start shouting about demons and mind control. Then I’d look like a nutjob, and that would be that. So even though it was killing me to just sit there, I did it.

Lara’s grin slipped a little as I held her gaze, saying nothing. “So that’s why you’ve all been brought here,” she said, turning her attention back to the other students. “To train. To prepare. And to participate in a ritual that will make you all more powerful than you’d ever thought possible.”

“If we’re so ‘valuable,’ why are we being held here against our will?” asked Siobhan, one of the faeries.

“The spells guarding this island are for your protection,” the Vandy barked, and even though that hardly answered the question, it was apparently all the answer we were going to get, because Lara just nodded and said, “Exactly. Now, we’ll start preparing you for the ritual tomorrow morning, first thing. So I suggest you all head back to your rooms and get some rest.”

If it was a “suggestion,” I wondered why it sounded so much like a threat. But slowly, kids started getting up and moving for the door. Heads were together, and there was whispering, but no one protested or tried to ask any more questions. Maybe everyone else had decided to lie low, too.

But me? I was kind of over that.

Even as Jenna hissed for me to come back, I walked to the front of the room and stood directly in front of Lara Casnoff, the woman who had tried to kill me. The woman who’d tried to kill Archer, and Jenna, and had put my dad through a ritual that had nearly killed him.

“You’re going to turn them all into demons?” I demanded. “Did you forget the part where your last demon went rogue and started killing people?”

She didn’t answer my question. “You certainly are a resilient little thing, Sophie.”

“And you’re evil and super condescending.”

“Is this the part where you tell me that you’re going to stop me? That I won’t get away with it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because if it is, let me give you some advice: grow up.”

With that, she handed the spell back to the Vandy, who replaced it in the bag.

I watched the two of them walk out of the ballroom, Mrs. Casnoff trailing behind, as Archer and Jenna came to stand next to me.

“Well, we know the plan now,” Jenna said. “Any counter plans?”

“Stop the Casnoffs from raising a demon army, save everybody, and get the heck off this island. Then maybe we’ll have a party or something. You know, to celebrate how awesome we are.”

“Sounds solid enough,” Archer said, bumping my shoulder with his. “Any idea how exactly we’re supposed to do any of that?”

The greenish lights in the ballroom winked out, and I sighed. “None.”