Page 14

“You are reckless. You think the rules don’t apply to you because you’ve lived a sheltered life, and therefore the real world can’t be that bad. But it is. In fact, it’s worse than you think out there. That’s why your father and I have tried so hard to protect you from it.”

“But mom?—”

“—I’m not finished!” she snapped, and then she advanced toward me, making me instantly back up a few paces. “The Ether is an environment that almost entirely rejects magic; our spells don’t survive in there. All we can do is move through it, and only with the use of that amulet—an amulet which you have now lost. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you, Beatrice?”

I did, but I also didn’t want to reply. I couldn’t. My heartrate was too high, the anxiety way too real.

“Your aunt Persephone’s amulet is the only artefact in existence that can bypass our defenses, and you may have just dropped it in to the lap of someone who could use it against us. So, I’m not wrong in suggesting you may have just killed us all. It isn’t an exaggeration. I’m not saying it to scare you into admitting you did wrong. I’m saying it because it is the flat, objective truth!”

“I’m sorry,” I said, sensing a pause in her assault.

She sighed. “It’s far too late for sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I always knew you would do something terrible.”

“Thanks.”

“I knew, one day, your impulsivity and blind disregard for our protocols would get our entire family into trouble. I never knew it would be this bad.”

I shook my head. “It’s not like I meant to lose it,” I said.

“But you did. Your intentions don’t matter. You weren’t ready for the responsibility of wielding the artefact, but you decided to take it anyway, and now it’s lost.”

I dared to venture. “So, dad… didn’t find it?”

My mother’s face darkened. She shook her head. “No.”

A cold wave rushed through me, freezing me to my core. “Shit.”

“Shit is right. I appreciate that you’ve finally realized the seriousness of the situation. He’s on his way back home, now.”

“He’s done looking?”

“He was out all night, he hasn’t been able to find its frequency because he’s never used it before; it’s not attuned to him.”

I took an anxious step closer to her. “I’ve used it,” I perked up. “I can find it.”

She shook her head. “It would take us longer to teach you the techniques than we have available. Your father needs to sleep now, anyway; tonight is a big night for our family. I will go into Boston and search for the amulet while he sleeps.”

“Big night?” I frowned.

“After many months of negotiations, the Diaboli are finally ready to sit at our table and talk. We’re hosting them for dinner.”

“Wait… what? Why?”

“Because they are a powerful family, and we could do with stronger ties to them.”

“Aren’t they the ones that deal with demons and stuff?”

“They haven’t for a long time. Not since the writing of the Codex Magica.”

“And you believe them?”

“I do. Each of our families had to make sacrifices after the war, we all had to change. We have been trying to get Diaboli to the table, to forge an alliance of our own, for over a decade. Now, they’re finally willing to talk.”

“I’m sorry if I don’t think having demon worshippers at our house is a good idea.”

“Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant. We are hosting the Diaboli tonight, you will be present, you will be pleasant, and you will not make a fuss. Is that understood?”

“You can’t expect me to be okay with them being here. Dad used to tell us some pretty awful stories about them.”