We stopped outside his door and he studied me. As usual, I had no idea what was going on in his mind. "Maybe,"was al he said. Then, after another long pause, "I know you think they're going to kil him, but they might not. Archer Cross is just as valuable to The Eye as you are to the Council. He'd make a good hostage, and they know it."
I forced my face not to crumple. If I cried any more tonight, I'd probably turn into a dried-out husk. "So what now? We just go to our rooms and sleep and try to pretend like everything is going to be al right?"Another thought occurred to me. "Or pretend that Nick isn't out there right now, completely crazy and superpowerful? Because there's no way I can do that."
"Yes there is."He reached out, startling me, and pressed his palm to my cheek.
Almost immediately, a sense of wel -being flooded through me, a blissful numbness that started at the top of my head and spread al the way to my toes. "Seriously, best powers ever,"I mumbled drowsily.
"Go to bed, Sophie,"he said, dropping his hand as if my skin had burned him. "Tomorrow wil be a long day."
But today wasn't over yet. As I turned to go, I saw Jenna standing outside my door, her face a mask of hurt and anger.
"I was downstairs getting some blood,"she said, her lips barely moving. "I...saw them come in with you. And Archer."
Cal's spel , which had seemed so helpful only a few moments before, was a nightmare now. My brain felt too soft and sleepy to come up with any explanation, and when I tried, I couldn't get the right words out. "He was helping me."
She made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a sob. "Helping you? Sophie, he's one-"
"Of them,"I finished, suddenly irritated. "I know. You're not the first person to say it tonight. But Jenna, please."I reached out for her, curling my fingers around her wrist. "Cal is mad at me, my Dad probably hates me...I can't have you hate me, too."
Two tears dripped from her eyes, splashing on the back of my hand. Her bloodstone shimmered slightly in the light from the sconces, and after a long, long moment, she covered my hand with hers. "Okay,"she said, sniffling. "But tomorrow, you're going to tel me everything."
"Everything,"I echoed, feeling my own eyes sting. And when she final y wrapped her arms around me and hugged me, it was al I could do not to sob al over her. "You are a way better friend than I deserve,"I mumbled against her shoulder.
She hugged me tighter. "I know."
I laughed through my tears, and just a little bit of the weight on my heart lifted.
Early the next morning, I heard a knock at the door, and jerked awake in an instant. Cal's spel had total y faded by that point, and al the anxiety and despair came flooding back. In less than twenty-four hours, my whole life had been turned upside down. Nick and Daisy had demoned out, Archer was a prisoner of the Council, and the fragile relationship I'd built with Dad had been blown completely to smithereens. It didn't seem fair that so much bad could happen in so short a time.
Or maybe I was just using up al the horrible now. Maybe the next eighty years would be ful of nothing but Yahtzee and col ecting various cats. That might be nice.
The knock sounded again, and I realized it wasn't my door, but Cal's down the hal . I sunk back to my pil ow. Would I be next, or would they take Archer first?
Or maybe they'd already taken Archer.
I shook that thought away and got cleaned up and dressed. My clothes from last night stil lay on the floor in a stiff heap, and I shuddered as I tossed them into the little brass trash can under the bathroom sink. It wasn't the first time I'd had blood on my clothes, but I dearly hoped it would be the last.
When they came for me, I was sitting on the edge of my bed, wearing the black sheath dress Lara had gotten for me at Lysander's. I opened the door to find Kristopher.
"Sophie, they're ready for you,"he said.
I nodded, my heart fluttering in my chest, and my mouth completely dry.
He led me down the stairs, but instead of turning right toward Council headquarters, we went left, into yet another section of Thorne Abbey that was completely foreign to me. This hal was darker, with none of the marble and gilt that seemed to cover the rest of the house. Here, there was just wood paneling and thick iron cages over the lightbulbs. Final y, we stopped at a heavy, scarred door.
The room wasn't like any other space at Thorne. It was relatively smal , for one thing, and dim. There were no windows, and the only light came from a thick metal chandelier ringed with candles. Everything smel ed dank and slightly mildewed, and there were dark stains on the worn wooden floor. I didn't want to think about where they'd come from.
Up front, a long wooden table ran nearly the length of the room, with five high-backed wooden chairs. The chairs were fil ed with Council members. I saw Lara first, and then, surprised, I realized Mrs. Casnoff was sitting next to her.
I was so shocked to see her back at Thorne, it took me a second to realize that Dad was not sitting at the table. Lara looked up and saw me, and gestured for me to come forward. In front of the table was a low bench, made of the same dark wood as the rest of the room. It was like being locked inside a huge oaken cask.
Archer was sitting on the bench, his elbows resting on his knees. His wrists were stil tied together with Kristopher's cord, and his clothes torn and stiff with blood. But when I sat next to him, he raised his head and tried to smile at me. It was more of a grimace, though. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I knew that would just make things worse. My magic flooded through me, and I let myself envision, just for a moment, unleashing it on that table of five grim faces.
I could have. My powers were stronger than al of theirs combined.
But then what? Make a run for it, destroy everything Dad had worked for, and spend the rest of my life hiding out? No thanks. Whatever the Council had in store for me, it couldn't be as bad as that.
"Sophia, as you've no doubt noticed, your father is not seated with us,"Lara said as Kristopher made his way to sit on the other side of her. "We decided, and he agreed, that he could not maintain the necessary objectivity to participate in your sentencing."
I glanced around and final y spotted Dad leaning against the back wal , nearly hidden in the gloom. His arms were crossed, but I couldn't see his face. Then it occurred to me that Lara said Dad hadn't participated in my sentencing. Had he had a role in deciding what would happen to Archer?
"But since Council law requires we have five members at al rulings, Anastasia agreed to fil the vacant seat. The two of you face very serious charges."Lara's voice should have been big and booming, the sound of a judgment coming from on high. Instead, it was low and quiet, almost intimate. "Archer Cross, you infiltrated Hecate Hal as a member of L'Occhio di Dio. Do you freely admit to this?"
Never in my life had I wished so hard for telepathic powers. Please don't be a smart-ass, please don't be a smart-ass, I thought, trying to wil the words into Archer's brain. Either it worked, or Archer had more sense than I'd thought.
"I do,"he said softly.
It was as if a sigh rippled through al five Prodigium. Then, as one, their eyes swiveled to me. "Sophia Mercer, you intruded in a forbidden area on Graymalkin Island and plotted with a member of L'Occhio di Dio in order to do it. Do you freely admit to this?"
A mil ion arguments and explanations leaped to my tongue, namely that I'd only been at that part of Graymalkin because the Casnoff sisters were up to some evil crap there, but I bit them al back. I just wanted this over with. "I do."
Lara nodded, and I think I saw a flicker of relief on her face. She scribbled something on a long piece of parchment in front of her. She didn't even look up as she said, "Mr. Cross, since you admit to the charges before you, we shal now pronounce your sentence."
My heartbeat slowed, and I suddenly felt very cold, like I was about to teleport. But it wasn't magic, just fear.
"It is the ruling of this Council that you shal be taken onto the grounds of Thorne Abbey tomorrow at dawn and executed."
It was like al the air rushed out of my lungs. Out of the room. I thought the chamber started to vibrate, but it wasn't the room. It was me, shaking so hard I couldn't see straight. Tomorrow. Dawn. That was less than twenty-four hours away. In less than a day, Archer would be dead. The words screamed in my skul , the pain in my head almost as intense as the pain in my heart.
Next to me, Archer drew in a deep breath, and I dug my nails into my palms to keep from taking his hand. If I touched him now, I was afraid of what might happen. My powers churned inside me, the way they had last night when I thought he was dying. I didn't think there was anything I could picture that would keep me from blowing this place to smithereens if I released even an iota of magic.
"As for you, Sophia,"Lara said, drawing my attention back to the table. "You are an entirely different matter."
I'd been so focused on how they were going to kil Archer that I nearly forgot I stil had to be punished.
Lara frowned, a vertical line forming between her brows, and said, "This is merely the last in a long line of troubling events where you are concerned. There was the situation at Hecate in the fal . You injured several Prodigium at Shel ey's several weeks ago. You were able to open the case holding Virginia Thorne's grimoire almost single-handedly."
I shook my head. How did she know about that? I wanted to turn to Dad again, but it was like my eyes were glued to Lara, watching her lips as she calmly continued, "And perhaps most disturbing of al is the strength of your necromancy skil s. There has literal y never been another Prodigium as proficient in those as you."
"What, you mean the ghouls?"I asked, confused. "Because, I mean, yeah, I could control them, but it took nearly everything out of me."
Mrs. Casnoff settled back in her chair, hands folded on top of the scarred table and spoke for the first time. "Not the ghouls, Sophie. We are speaking of Elodie Parris."
Her words fel on me like stones. "You told me that she had attempted to communicate with you at Hecate. Is this true?"
I could feel every eye in the room on me, even Archer's. "Yes."
Mrs. Casnoff leaned forward. "And has she done the same here at Thorne?"
My fingers were icy as I curled them in my lap, but I didn't say anything. Stil , Mrs. Casnoff nodded as if I had. "There's never been a case of a ghost communicating with a Prodigium, much less fol owing one across the Atlantic Ocean. Elodie should be haunting Hecate. Instead, she's haunting you."She shook her head slightly, like she couldn't believe it. "It's possible that it's an aftereffect of her sharing magic with you as she was dying, but again, there is no precedent for anything like it. When we take that into account with both the powers you've already displayed, and your heritage, I'm afraid it leaves us with no choice."
My mind felt like an oversaturated sponge. There was just too much information to even begin to make sense of it al . I had somehow bound Elodie to me, and despite al the work I'd done this summer to not be scary-powerful, that's exactly what the Council was saying I was. And what did she mean, "heritage"?
Mrs. Casnoff dropped her gaze, and Lara once again scrawled something across her parchment, then spoke. "It is our ruling that you be subjected to the Removal."
