"All secure," the witch in charge said cheerfully when Keller rolled down the window. He shifted his reflective vest. "Thirty cars in, nobody out. There hasn't been one for a while-I think you're fashionably late." He winked.
"Thirty?" Keller said. "How many people per car?"
"Two in most of them, but some were packed."
Keller glanced at Iliana beside her. "And that's what they call only inviting a few people?"
Iliana shrugged. "You haven't seen the house."
"Anyway, it's safe," the witch foreman said. "No dragon has gotten in, I can promise you that. And none is going to get in, either."
Keller nodded at him, and they drove on.
Diana was right. In considering how big the party was, you had to see the size of the house. Keller had studied the plans, but it wasn't the same.
They passed something like a peach orchard on one side of the driveway, and then a carriage house that seemed to have swallowed up a dozen cars. But Nissa dropped them off by the front steps, below the stately white columns that decorated the magnificent porch.
Impressive place, Keller thought.
They walked in.
In the cavernous, softly lit entry hall, there was a girl in a dark uniform who took their coats. There was also Brett. When he saw Diana, he pounced.
"Blondie! I thought you weren't going to make it!"
"You knew I wouldn't miss this," Diana said gently. But Keller thought she looked much less interested in Brett than the last time she'd spoken to him.
She's learned a lot, Keller thought. And, of course, now that she knows Galen, she sees this loser for what he is.
Brett was looking the others over in his meat-appraising way. "So just which of these lovely ladies is your cousin? I never got a chance to ask."
"Oh... that one." Diana pointed a random finger.
"You?" Brett's eyes ran up and down Keller's tallness
and her blue-black hair. "I never would have guessed."
"We're sort of... foster cousins," Keller said.
She didn't like Brett. That was nothing new, but somehow tonight she realty didn't like him. There was something almost creepy in the way his eyes clung to girls, and when he looked at Diana, it was like watching a slug crawl over a peach blossom.
"Well, come with me and join the fun," he said, gesturing expansively and flashing a smile. Keller almost asked "Where?" but in a moment she realized that it was pointless. The party really seemed to be all over the house.
The entry room itself was big enough to have a party in, and it had a wide, sweeping staircase just like a proper Southern mansion. Above, on the second floor, Keller could see a hallway lined with portraits and statues.
Brett led them through room after room, each one impressive. Some seemed to be real sitting rooms; others just looked like displays in a museum. Finally, they went through one last open archway into a ballroom.
Paneled walls. Painted ceiling. Chandeliers. An ocean of floor. And the college band at one end playing music that was definitely modern. A few couples were dancing a slow dance, very near the band. They looked small enough to rattle in the enormous room. Keller almost giggled, but Diana looked dreamy.
"It's beautiful."
Brett looked satisfied. "There's food over there on the sideboard. But most of the food's downstairs in the game room. You want to see that?"
"I want to see Jaime," Iliana said.
"She's down there."
The game room was amazing, too. Not just pool tables and darts but arcade-style video games, old-fashioned pinball machines, an indoor basketball hoop, and generally just about everything you'd find at a superior arcade.
As soon as they walked in, a guy in black pants, white shirt, and black vest offered them a tray of tiny quiches and mini-pizzas. A caterer, Keller decided, not part of the regular staff of the house. She shook her head at the food and went on looking around, keeping her senses open so she could take in everything at once.
This was the first time Iliana had been out in public since she'd gone to school last Monday, and it was nerve-wracking. The game room was much more crowded than the ballroom, and everybody was laughing and talking at once. On top of that, this old mansion had some very modern renovations. The band music was being piped into the other rooms.
"Jaime!" Iliana said as a figure emerged from the crush of people.
Jaime looked good. Her face had a healthy color, and her dark blue eyes were wide open and shining. Her brown hair was fluffed softly, and she was wearing a very pretty blue dress.
Iliana." She hugged Iliana hard, speaking in her flat but oddly pleasant voice. "It seems like forever. How are you?"
"Fine. My cold's better, and my hand-" Iliana held up her right hand. There was a neat bandage around the palm to protect the stitches. 'It itches sometimes, but that's all. How about you?"
"I still have headaches. But I'm getting better." Jaime smiled at Keller and the others. "I'm so glad you all could come."
"Yeah, so are we," Keller said politely, feeling a stab of instinctive guilt. It was irrational, but she kept expecting this girl to look at her and say, "You're the one who attacked me! The monster cat!"
And she wasn't glad that they had come. Her early warning system was clamoring already; she felt as if her fur was standing on end. She couldn't explain it, but there was something wrong about the house.
"Keep alert," she said quietly to the others as Jaime led Iliana to the food tables. "Remember, two of us are with her at all times. The other two can wander the house, check the perimeter, look for anything suspicious. And keep in touch." She put a finger to her brooch.
That was when they found that their transmitters didn't work. Keller had no idea why. All any of them could hear was static like white noise.
Keller cursed.
"Well keep in touch physically, then," she said grimly. She checked her watch. It was almost nine. "And well get her out of here in an hour. Ten o'clock. Just to be safe."
"Good idea," Galen said.
Winnie and Nissa said, "Right, Boss."
Keller stuck close to Iliana, telling herself that they were taking every precaution and that all she had to do was stay cool and they could get out safely. But as time went on, she only got more and more uneasy.