"What's going on here?" a familiar voice brayed. Great. Like this night didn't suck out loud enough already. The Vandy-who had been a cross between school matron and prison guard at Hex Hall -shoved her way through the crowd, breathing hard. Her purple tattoos, marks of the Removal, were nearly black against her red face. "Downstairs, now!" As the group began moving again, she glared at Jenna and me. "Show your fangs again, Miss Talbot, and I'll wear them as earrings. Is that understood?" Jenna may have muttered, "Yes, ma'am," but her tone said something totally different. We jogged down the stairs to join the rest of the students lining up to go into the ball room. "At least one thing at Hex Hall hasn't changed," Jenna said.
"Yeah, apparently the Vandy's powers of bitchery are a constant. I find that comforting." Less comforting was the creeptasticness of the school at night. During the day, it had just been depressing. Now that it was dark, it was full-on sinister. The old-fashioned gas lamps on the walls had once burned with a cozy, golden light. Now, a noxious green glow sputtered inside the milky glass, throwing crazy shadows all over the place.
As we moved down the hall, I stopped by one of the parlors. The big window that had looked out over the pond (and Cal's cabin) was broken.
More of that terrifying fog spilled inside through the jagged window frame, swirling around the floor. I noticed that several of the photographs that lined the walls were now lying on the carpet.
"I know 'What's Going On?' has practically become a catchphrase around here," I said to Jenna, "but seriously. What is going on?" Jenna studied the fog and shook her head. "It's like the house is sick," she said. "Or poisoned. The island, too."
"Maybe. I mean, the Casnoffs have a giant pit they use for raising demons." Archer and I had found that pit over the summer, and I still had nightmares about the ghouls who had guarded it. "Magic that dark-that evil...Do you think it could actually infect a place?" Her expression troubled, Jenna murmured, "Wouldn't surprise me."
"Are broken windows a new decorating theme around here?" Archer asked, coming up behind Jenna and me and poking his head into the parlor.
"So it would seem," I said. I was still looking outside when a faint light appeared in the gloom. It took me a minute to realize that it was from Cal's cabin. Was someone out there? Was Call out there?
But just as quickly as it had appeared, the light went out again. Frowning, I turned from the doorway, and I went to slip my arm through Archer's.
Then I remembered what Nausicaa had said earlier. Now wasn't exactly the best time for PDA, probably.
The three of us trailed behind everyone else into the ball room. Here, at least, things looked more or less the same. Of course, the ball room had always been one of the more bizarre rooms at Hex Hall, so that didn't say much. Still. I was relieved to see the familiar jumble of tables and chairs and not, like, tree stumps or whatever.
But then I looked at the front of the room, and any relief I might've been feeling evaporated. Mrs. Casnoff was slumping in her usual chair, staring off into the distance. Her hair was up now, but it was still unkempt. The Vandy was also sitting at the table, but the other three teachers we'd had at Hex Hall -Ms. East, Mr. Ferguson, and Byron, of course-were missing.
And sitting at the other end of the table, dressed in a bright blue suit, smiling like she was at a freaking tea party, was Lara Casnoff.
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 deja 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, ll'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 Call 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.
