"What do you think about?"
Settling his glasses back on his nose, he replied, "Your mother."
"Oh."Wel , if it worked for him, maybe it would work for me. I picked out another mirror, this one medium-sized and in a frame made up of little gilt cherubs. I felt my power rushing up from my feet, but instead of flinging it out like I usual y do, I took a deep breath and pictured my mom's face. It was a memory from a year ago, just before everything went so wrong for us in Vermont. We were picking out my prom dress, and Mom was smiling, her green eyes bright.
Almost immediately, my heartbeat slowed, and I felt the magic move up more gradual y. When it final y reached my fingertips, I focused on the mirror, keeping Mom's face in my mind. "Break."
The mirror and the ones on either side of it shattered, little slivers of glass raining to the dusty floor. But stil , it was only three of them. And there had been a distinct lack of explosions. "Holy crap!"I breathed. A goofy smile spread across my face, and I realized it was the first time I'd felt magic drunk in months.
"Much better,"Dad said, waving his hand. In a few seconds, the mirrors were repaired. "Of course, the more you practice, the better you'l get. And the better you are at control ing your powers, the less probable it is you wil ever hurt anyone."
Now the euphoric feeling gave way to a nervous, fluttering feeling. "So you're saying that if I mastered this magical tai chi thing, I could keep from being like...like Alice?"
"I'm saying it greatly reduces the chances, yes. I told you, Sophie. You have many more options than the Removal."
Because I couldn't think of anything to say, I just nodded and wiped my suddenly sweaty hands on my thighs. Practicing deep breaths and picturing people I loved seemed a lot better than having magical runes cut into my skin, but it was almost too much to believe that it could be this easy.
"Of course, the choice is yours, and you don't have to decide anything today,"Dad said. "But stil , just...tel me you'l consider it."
"Yeah,"I replied, but the word came out kind of squeaky. I cleared my throat. "Yeah,"I said again. "Of course I wil ."
I expected Dad to do his usual brisk thing and say something like, "Excel ent. I wil anxiously await your pronouncement on this significant matter."Instead, he just looked relieved and said, "Good."
Thinking we were done, I moved toward the door, but Dad stepped in front of it. "We're not quite finished yet."
I blinked at him, surprised. "I could try to break some more mirrors if you real y want me to, Dad, but I'm kind of wiped out. Between last night and today, there's been an awful lot of magic flyin'around for me, and-"
He shook his head. "No, not that. We have one more matter to discuss."
I didn't need my new psychic senses to tel me something bad was coming. "What?"
Dad took a deep breath and folded his arms. "I want you to tel me about Archer Cross."
I stopped myself just before I reached into my pocket, but it stil felt like the coin was burning a hole in there. My mind flew in a mil ion different directions. How could Dad know that Archer was there last night? Did he know I'd taken the coin? Archer had said he'd use it to find me. Maybe Dad wanted to use it to lure him here.
But before I could have a mental breakdown, Dad said, "I know it's uncomfortable to talk about, but it's very important that I have a clearer understanding of what happened last semester."
"Oh,"I breathed, hoping it didn't sound too much like a sigh of relief. "I told you. Mrs. Casnoff made me write a statement to the Council a few weeks after it happened. Everything's in there."
"I read that. And neither I, nor the rest of the Council, believe it contains the entire truth."
I made a sound that I'd like to say was a cry of indignant outrage, but it was actual y closer to a bleat. Probably because Dad was right: that stupid statement didn't even begin to touch the whole truth.
"Your entanglement with Archer Cross-"
"We were never entangled,"I spluttered.
"Listen to me!"Dad snapped, and I shut my mouth with an audible click. He lowered his voice as he continued. "Did you see Archer at Shel ey's last night?"
For just a second, I thought about lying. But there was something in the way Dad was watching me that indicated he already knew the answer. Lie, and this whole thing would just get that much worse.
"Only for a minute."I said the words in a rush, like the faster I got them out there, the easier it would be. "But Dad, he protected me from the other Eyes. He could've given me to them, or kil ed me himself, but he didn't. And I think there's something weird with him being in The Eye, because he's stil using magic-"
Dad grabbed my shoulders. His grip wasn't al that tight, and it's not like he shook me or anything, but something in his gaze made the words dry up in my throat.
"You can never see him again. I'm saying this both as your father and as head of the Council. It is imperative that you have no further contact with Archer Cross."
I knew al of that. But there was something about having it actual y said out loud that physical y hurt. "I get it,"I said, looking down. "I'm a demon, he's an Eye. If we got together, think of how awkward family holidays would be. Magic and daggers flying around, knocking over the Christmas tree..."
Dad didn't crack a smile at my joke, but I couldn't blame him. I think the fact that I practical y choked out the words kil ed some of the humor.
"It's more than just that,"Dad said, releasing me and stepping back. He sighed. "Sophie, Archer Cross is perhaps the greatest threat Prodigium have ever faced."
I stared at him. "Okay, I know that The Eye freaks everyone out, but I saw them in action last night, Dad. They're not that scary, and Archer's one of the youngest ones."
"Yes, but he's also a warlock. In the past, The Eye has used the element of surprise and sheer numbers to hunt us down, much like what you saw last night. But if they were also capable of using magic? We'd lose the only advantage we have. The idea that L'Occhio di Dio could recruit one of our own is terrifying to Prodigium. It's why Archer Cross has to be found, and dealt with."
"You mean kil ed,"I said flatly.
"If that's the Council's ruling."