“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 becauseI 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 youthere? 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.
chapter 6
The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me, and a shout was echoing in my ears. I had a feeling it had come from me. Disoriented, I sat up, my heart thrumming in my chest.
“Sophie?” Jenna was sitting next to me on the bed, her eyes wide.
“What happened?” I asked, my voice husky. The room was darker than it had been when I’d laid down, and for just a second, I thought I was back at Hex Hall.
“You must have been having a nightmare. You were yelling. Screaming, actually.”
Well, that was embarrassing. And also weird. I never had nightmares, not even after all that had happened last semester. I searched my brain for any image or memory from the dream, but it was like my head was stuffed with cotton. All I could remember was that I had been running, that I’d been scared of…something. Weirdly, my throat was aching too, like I’d been crying. Other than that, all I was left with was that same feeling of dread I’d felt on the ferry, and a strange odor in my nostrils.
Smoke.
I took a deep breath, but even the sunshine smell of my sheets couldn’t block the acrid stench.
I tried to smile. “I’m fine,” I said. “Just a stupid dream.”
Jenna looked less than convinced as she wrapped her arms around her knees. “What was it about?”
“I don’t really know,” I told her. “I was running, I think, and there was a fire somewhere nearby.”
Jenna twirled her pink streak. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“It wasn’t, but the feeling that came with it…” I shuddered, remembering that awful sense of loss. “It’s like I was scared, obviously, but I was also sad. More than sad. Devastated.” Sighing, I leaned back against the headboard. “I felt something similar when we left Hecate. Like, I had this super-strong sense that we’d never go back there. Not all three of us, at least.”
One of my favorite things about Jenna is that she’s pretty much unshockable. Maybe that comes with being a vampire, or maybe she was that way before she changed.
Either way, she didn’t freak out about my maybe being psychic all of a sudden. She just chewed her thumbnail with a thoughtful expression before saying, “Is that a demon power? Seeing or sensing the future?”
“How the heck would I know? Alice was the only demon I’ve ever been around. The only thing she seemed to do that regular witches don’t is suck people’s blood, and that’s not particularly impressive. No offense.”
“None taken. Well, maybe you could ask your dad. Isn’t that t
he point of this vacay? Learning what it means to be a demon?”
I made a noncommittal sound, and Jenna wisely dropped the subject. “Okay, so you had a dream about fire and possibly a psychic sense that we’re all going to die in England.”
“I feel so much better now; thanks, Jenna.”
She ignored me. “Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. Sometimes dreams are just dreams.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “You’re probably right.”
“And if those are the only weird things that have happened to you lately, then why…” She trailed off at the expression on my face. “Those aren’t the only weird things that have happened.”
At that moment, all I wanted to do was slide back down and pull the covers over my head. Instead, I told Jenna about seeing Elodie.
And apparently, that was the one thing that could surprise Jenna. “She looked at you? Like, right at you?”
When I nodded, Jenna blew out a long breath, ruffling her bangs. “What did Mrs. Casnoff say?”
I fidgeted. “I, uh, haven’t exactly told her yet.”
“What? Soph, you have to tell her. That could mean something, and after Alice…Look, I get that living in the regular world for so long gave you major trust issues, but you don’t need to keep any more secrets from Mrs. Casnoff. Or me.”
There was that familiar stab of guilt again. Jenna and I had never really talked about it, but we both knew that if I had just told someone about seeing Alice, then Jenna might never have been accused of the attacks on Chaston and Anna. And, of course, Elodie might still be alive.
“I’ll send her a letter tomorrow. Oh! Or, duh, I can call her. Lara gave me a cell phone.”
Jenna perked up. “Really? What kind? Can we download music and—” She broke off and shook herself. “No. Do not try to distract me with shiny, sexy technology, Sophie Mercer. Promise,” she said, squeezing my arm.
I held up my hand and did what I thought was the Girl Scout salute. Or it could have been thatStar Trek thing. “I solemnly swear to tell Mrs. Casnoff that Elodie’s ghost looked at me. And if I do not tell her, I swear to buy Jenna a pony. A vampire pony.”
Jenna tried not to crack a smile, but no one can resist a vampire pony.
I felt about a million times better as we both started to laugh. Jenna was right. There were people I could trust now, people who deserved to know what was going on with me. My heart suddenly seemed lighter, and I decided that, Demon Central or not, Thorne Abbey was as good a place as any to turn over a new leaf, and clean the slate, and all those other clichés about starting over.
I was done with secrets.
“I hate that you had a bad dream, but I’m glad you’re awake,” Jenna said when we were done giggling. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe about how your dad brought us to Council Headquarters?” Her expression softened as she added, “I could tell something freaked you out.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“No, but as a vampire, I’m able to detect subtle shifts in emotional energy.”
I just stared at her until she rolled her eyes and said, “Okay, you got really pale and looked like you were gonna hurl. I thought you might faint there for a second.” Then her face brightened and she sat up straighter. “Oh my God, you so should have fainted, and then Cal could have caught you, and, like, carried you up the stairs.” She punctuated that last bit with a little squeal and clutched my arm.
“I liked you so much more when you were sulky and angsty, Jenna.”
She just kept grinning and wriggling around the bed like a four-year-old until I laughed. Shoving off my covers, I begrudgingly said, “Okay, I admit that the image of Cal carrying me up that fancy staircase is…nice.”
Jenna gave a happy sigh. “It is, isn’t it? And I don’t even like dudes.”
I snorted at that as I leaned down to fish under the bed for my sneakers. I knew I should probably tell Jenna about the betrothal, but I wasn’t really ready to talk about it with anyone else until I worked out how I felt.
“It wasn’t just the Council thing,” I called up to Jenna. “Did you see those kids at the back of the welcoming committee?”
“Yeah, the black-haired girl, and the guy who looks like Archer.”
I sat up too fast, hitting my head on the bed frame. “What?” I said, rubbing my scalp.
“That guy. He looked a lot like Archer. In fact, I thought that might be part of the reason you looked all vomitish.”
Sitting back on my haunches, I tried to remember the guy without the haze of “Oh, dear God, that’s another demon” clouding my vision. “Yeah,” I said finally. “I guess he did look like him. Similar hair. Tall. Kind of smirky.” My stomach twisted a little, and I wished Jenna hadn’t brought up Archer. “Anyway,” I said, sliding my shoes back on, “that’s not what freaked me out. He’s a demon. Both of them are.”
Jenna’s mouth dropped open. “No way. But thought you and your dad were the only ones in the whole world.”
“So did I. Hence my puking face.”
“What do you think they’re doing here?”
“No idea.”
We were quiet for a minute before Jenna said, “Well, they’re probably lame demons anyway. I’m sure you and your dad are much better at demoning.”
I grinned at her. “Jenna, how are you so awesome?”
She smiled back. “Yet another one of my special vampire powers.” She pushed herself off the bed. “Now come on. I did a little exploring while you took that epic nap. You were out for like three hours. Anyway, I was scared to go too far by myself.”
“You scared? You know you could probably take out anything that goes bump in the night?”
Jenna shrugged. “Yeah, but being a vampire doesn’t protect you from getting lost. I really didn’t feel like wandering around this spooky house for all eternity.”
“Thorne Abbey isn’t spooky,” I said. “Hecate is spooky. This place is just…different.”
“It’s huge,” Jenna said, her eyes wide. “Didn’t you hear what Lara said? Thirty-one kitchens. Justkitchens, Soph.”
My mouth watered at the thought of food. “I wonder which one is making dinner tonight.”
Jenna and I stepped out into the hallway. There were several lamps affixed to the walls, but it was still gloomy. “It’s weird to think of one family living in this house,” I said.
“This wasn’t even the Thorne family’s primary residence,” Jenna said, like she was quoting from a guidebook. “They had a mansion in London, a castle in the north of Scotland, and a hunting lodge in Yorkshire. Unfortunately, they lost most of their wealth after World War II, and in 1951, they were forced to sell all of their properties except for the Abbey. It still belongs to the Thorne family.”
“Dude. How do you know all of this?”
Jenna looked a little sheepish. “I told you. You were napping for a long time and I got bored,” she said. “There’s this insane library downstairs, and they have a whole bunch of books about the history of the house. Some really fascinating stuff happened here. Like those big statues in the foyer? They were commissioned by Philip Thorne in 1783 after his wife committed suicide by throwing herself down the stairs.”
“Gruesome,” I replied, but something was bothering me. It was that name, Thorne. I knew I’d heard it somewhere before, but where? And why did I feel like it was so important?
As we walked downstairs, Jenna rattled off more history about the house. “Oh! One thing I read was really neat. In the late 1930s, Thorne Abbey was a school for girls.”
A faint alarm bell began ringing in the back of my head.
“Really?”
“Yeah. During the Blitz, they had to evacuate a bunch of kids from London, including whole schools. The Thornes figured girls make the least mess, so they opened the Abbey to nine ‘ladies’ colleges.”
And just like that, it all clicked. I knew exactly where I’d heard the name before.
chapter 7
My stomach rolled. “Oh my God.”
“It’s not that interesting,” Jenna said, but I shook my head.
“No, not that. Did the book have any pictures of those girls?”
“Yeah. I think I saw a few.”
I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as I said, “Okay, I need to see that book. Now.”
Jenna looped her arm through mine as we walked down one of the many hallways branching off the main foyer. “I left it sitting on the window seat in the library,” she said. “I bet it’s still there.”
We passed countless closed doors and turned down three different halls before reaching the library. Like the rest of the house, it was gorgeous. And gigantic.
I actually froze in the doorway for a second. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen so many books in my life. Shelf after shelf stretched out before me, and twin spiral staircases curled up to the second level, where there were even more books. Low couches were scattered throughout the room, and Tiffany lamps cast soft pools of light on the hardwood floor. Large windows at the other end of the room looked out over the river and let in the last few rays of the setting sun.
The window seat was empty.
“Crap,” Jenna sighed. “I swear I left it there like twenty minutes ago.”
“Do you remember where you found the book?” I asked. “Maybe someone came in and reshelved it.”
Jenna bit her lip. “Yeah, I think so. It was upstairs by this really weird cabinet.”
I followed her as she headed to the second floor. “Weird how?”
“You’ll see. Okay, I was near the back, by the painting of some dude on a horse….”
I could see where Jenna would have trouble remembering which shelf was which. Downstairs, the books had lined the walls, leaving the floor open. Up here, there were roughly thirty bookcases vying for space, some of them so close together I had to turn sideways just to pass between them.
“Aha!” I heard Jenna exalt from somewhere to my left.
I found her standing on tiptoes, scanning a shelf that was indeed next to a painting of a dude on a horse. I thought he looked awfully irritated for a guy in such a spiffy ermine cape.
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