I thought of them last night, so forlorn, talking about magic "pounding"inside their heads. "They'd like that."
"I know,"Dad replied. "And I'm also hoping that doing so wil ...wel , if not appease The Eye, at least remove some of their drive."
I looked at Dad. I mean, real y looked at him. His suit was probably a size too big, and there were deep creases, like parentheses, on either side of his mouth. He was a handsome guy, sure, but he seemed more exhausted than I'd known a person could be.
"Look,"I said. "Don't get super-psyched or anything, but maybe...maybe we could do this again tomorrow. You know, the demon yoga thing."
Somewhere in the house, several clocks began chiming. They rang out three times before Dad said, "I would like that."
We walked down the stairs in silence, and after making plans to see me at dinner, Dad headed back to his office while I went to my room to check my e-mail.
There was a reply from Mrs. Casnoff, but al it said was, "Thank you for informing me."
I leaned back in my chair and rested my crossed forearms on top of my head. She didn't seem al that concerned. That had to be good, though.
Especial y since the last thing I needed was Elodie's ghost hanging around. I already had enough on my plate.
The gold coin was heavy in my palm as I pul ed it out of my pocket. I studied it for a long time before getting up and slipping it in my bedside drawer.
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"Hi,"I cal ed out, giving a particularly lame wave.
Jenna twisted around to look at me. "There you are!"she exclaimed, eyes bright and cheeks flushed. "Where have you been al morning?"
I kicked off my sandals and sat on the other side of her. The water in the fountain was cold enough to make me wince. "Hanging out with Dad mostly. You know, doing the father/daughter bonding thing."
"Your dad is a wonderful man,"Vix said, leaning past Jenna. Her voice was low, and like Jenna's, held just a little trace of a Southern accent. She was also ridiculously pretty with big green eyes and silky brown hair. No wonder Jenna was so smitten.
"Wel , he's definitely my favorite person on earth right now,"Jenna said, reaching down to squeeze Vix's hand. "How cool was he, flying Vix out here?"
"So cool,"I murmured in reply. I wondered if it had even crossed Jenna's mind that Dad had brought Vix here to distract her. Something about the starry look in Jenna's eyes told me no. "It's great to final y meet you,"I said to Vix. "Jenna talks about you al the time."
Chapter 11
She laughed. "Same to you. And of course, your dad was always talking about you, so between him and Jenna, I feel like I already know you."
Man, first Cal, then Lara and the other Council members, now Vix. Did Dad have a blog about me or something? "My Daughter Sophie and Why You Should Al Fol ow Her and/or Marry Her."
"So what did you and your dad do?"Jenna asked.
I hesitated, but Vix pul ed her feet out of the water. Bracing her hands on the edge of the fountain, she spun around so she was facing the other way.
"I think I'l go unpack,"she said. "I was so excited to see Jenna that I just threw my suitcase in my room."She grinned, two dimples appearing in her pink cheeks. I noticed the bloodstone around her neck, glinting in the sun. "Come find me later?"she asked Jenna.
"Okay,"Jenna replied before shyly leaning over and brushing a brief kiss on Vix's lips.
We watched Vix practical y skip back to the house. I bumped Jenna with my shoulder. "Your girlfriend is soooo dreamy."
Jenna turned back to me, her face glowing. "I know!"she squealed, and we both laughed.
When we'd settled down, Jenna pushed her hair out of her eyes and said, "Okay, so there are some deep thoughts going on in that head, Sophia Alice Mercer. What's up?"
"What's not up is a better question,"I told her. "Things are getting...intense with The Eye."
Jenna watched me. "How intense?"
I sighed and kicked out one foot, sending up an arc of water. I didn't want to tel her about Council Headquarters, or the dead Council members.
Apparently that was so secret even Vix didn't know about it, and she worked for the freaking Council. "Intense enough that Dad real y, real y doesn't want me to go through the Removal."I wiggled my fingers at her. "It seems demon powers might come in handy if a bunch of people decide to kil me."
"Don't say that,"Jenna said sharply.
"Sorry,"I replied, laying my hand on her arm. "I just...I'm real y freaked out."
Her expression softened and she covered my fingers with her own. "I know. The joking in the face of death thing kind of gave it away. But, Soph, please tel me this means you're for sure not doing the Removal."
I had to look away as another image of Alice crouching by Elodie, her silver claws puncturing Elodie's neck, fil ed my brain. But then I thought of Dad's face, so sad and scared. For me.
Squinting up at the top of the fountain, I took a deep breath and thought of my first night at Hecate, giggling with Jenna in our room. I flicked my hand, and immediately, the water turned bright pink. "Nah,"I said. "If I didn't have powers, how could I do cool things like that?"