I walked over to the nearest window. It was warped with age, distorting my view of yet another garden. This one wasn't nearly as pretty as the others. The fountain was covered in moss, and one of the stone benches had cracked in half.
Dad came up behind me. In the glass, I watched his hands hover over my shoulders before coming to rest at his sides. "Sophie, I know this is difficult to understand, but these are very dangerous times for us. When we arrived, you asked why the Council was here at Thorne Abbey instead of in London."
"Lara said there had been some 'unforeseen events,'"I said without turning around.
His eyes met mine in the window, our faces wavy. "Yes. Namely, that L'Occhio di Dio burned Council Headquarters to the ground two months ago."
Now I did turn around. "What?"
"That's why there are only five Council members here at Thorne. The other seven died in the attack."
Even though I hadn't know any of the Council members, I felt his words like a punch in my gut. I couldn't think of anything to say but, "Why didn't we hear about that at Hecate?"
Dad turned away from me and walked over to one of the tiny gilt-and-velvet chairs that lined the wal s.
He sighed as he sank into it. "Because we're working very hard to keep that knowledge secret. If it got out, it would cause panic, and we simply can't afford that right now."
He looked back at me. "Can I be brutal y honest with you, Sophie?"
It would make a nice change, I considered saying. But I looked at his sagging shoulders, the naked fear on his face. Taking a deep breath, I nodded. "Please."
"Do you remember the war we talked about, between The Eye and Prodigium? It seems we are on the verge of another, but one that has the potential to be far, far worse. The Eye did not attack Council Headquarters on their own. They had help from the Brannicks."He paused, his eyes searching my face. "Do you know anything about the Brannicks?"
"Irish girls, red hair,"I replied, remembering a picture of them from Mrs. Casnoff's "People Who Want to Kil Us Al "lecture at Hex Hal last year. I also remembered Mrs. Casnoff saying that if the Brannicks and The Eye ever teamed up, we were screwed. "They're like white witches, aren't they?"I asked.
"Descended from one, yes. They don't have any powers anymore, not real y. They heal more quickly than regular humans, and there's stil the odd bit of magic that surfaces in some of them. Mild telekinesis, precognition, that kind of thing. Their numbers have diminished over the years, but they have a new leader, Aislinn Brannick. Apparently, she's a great deal more ambitious than her predecessors. And now it seems she's reached out to The Eye."
My magic buzz was completely gone now, and I leaned against the windowsil . "Why? I mean, what changed to make them team up and get so serious about kil ing us?"
"Nick and Daisy,"he said flatly. "The knowledge that someone has started raising demons for the first time in sixty years has put them on edge. But of course, most Prodigium are equal y distressed that one of our kind is part of their ranks. The entire situation is...wel , I'm afraid tense doesn't begin to cover it. Combustible, let's say."He got up, coming to stand in front of me again. "Sophie, do you understand now why I wil do anything to convince you not to go through with the Removal?"
Great. More about my duty, and great responsibility coming with great power and al that. "Sure,"I said, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
"It's like you said the other night about Alice: demons make pretty awesome weapons, and if there's a big war coming, you guys wil need me, right?"
Dad stared at me, frowning, and I tore my eyes away from his, biting the inside of my cheek.
"No,"he said at last. "That's not it at al ."He touched my shoulder until I looked at him again. "Sophie, I would never use you as a weapon. I want you to have your powers so that you'l be safe. The thought of you completely defenseless against The Eye and the Brannicks?"His voice shook on the last word. He cleared his throat. "It terrifies me."
I blinked against the sudden stinging in my eyes. "But if I went through the Removal, they wouldn't be after me anymore, right?"I hadn't meant for it to sound so much like a plea.
Dad shook his head. "It wouldn't matter if you had your powers or not. You're stil my daughter. At least with your powers, you can defend yourself."
My hands were trembling, so I shoved them into my pockets. My fingers brushed the gold coin, and I jerked as though it had burned me. Dad glanced down, and I quickly said, "Why didn't you just tel me that in the first place?"
His eyes met mine. "Why haven't you told me the truth about you and Archer?"
"We were just friends,"I said. "How many times do I have to say it?"
When he didn't say anything, I rol ed my eyes. "Okay, so I liked him. I had a crush on him, and-"I wasn't sure if the heat in my face was from embarrassment or anger. "And yes, one time we kissed. But it was just the once, and about ten seconds afterward, I found out he was an Eye."
Dad nodded. "And that's it. That's the whole story."
Why oh why wasn't there a giant hole in the floor that I could plummet through, preferably to my death? "Yeah, that's it."
"Wel , that's something,"Dad said, running a hand through his hair. "At some point, I want you to add that to your original statement."
We were quiet for a long time before I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress and said, "Is there anything else horrible happening that I need to know about?"
Dad gave a humorless laugh as he ushered me toward the door. "I believe that covers al the current horror."
Another question suddenly occurred to me. "What about Nick and Daisy, Dad? I know you said you didn't want to use me as a weapon, but-"
"Never."His voice was quiet but steely. "What was done to them was a crime, and whoever did it is responsible for the dire situation in which we now find ourselves. Which is why finding out who changed them is so important."
We paused on the landing. "What do you mean?"
"There is one other way to rid a demon of his or her powers besides the Removal. That's for the person who original y performed the ritual to reverse it. Obviously, it's too late for the two of us, since we're third- and fourth-generation demons, and our maker is long dead. But it's stil possible for Nick and Daisy."