Chapter 1

 A loud pop permeated the silence in the vehicle as the car suddenly swerved to the side of the road, canted at a strange angle. Anabeth Caerhart, the backseat’s only occupant was lurched sideways against the restraint of her seatbelt. Up front, the driver gripped the steering wheel with tight hands, breathing heavily as the adrenal rush caught up to him. The back right tire had blown and the two passengers were now sitting, staring at each other in the review mirror. Ana raised her hands and smirked, “Wasn’t my fault.”

Her heart was racing but she wasn’t about to give in and confess her distress. She took a deep breath and felt her heartbeat start to slow down as the driver scowled. He never responded to her, but got out of the car and walked around toward the back. Anabeth turned in her seat to get a better look of what he was doing. He kicked the tire.

With a huge grin, she rolled down the window as far as it would go and peered over the edge. “Looks like we aren’t going anywhere for now.” Her tone was overly chipper; they hadn’t told her where she was going and now she was getting her payback on the previously silent driver. Who was now cursing under his breath at the tire and giving her a dirty look. 

“Stay in the car, missy. And roll up the window,” he barked.

Those were the first words he’d said to her since the start of this trip in the utterly wee hours of the morning. They’d bundled her into this Caddy and told her she was going to a new foster home. Again. This was like the fourth time she’d been through this and it was getting old. Didn’t anyone think she might like to know her fate before being handed off to some new jailor? Anabeth sat back in the car and looked around.

Squeaky, clean leather made the back seat of the car uncomfortable. Thick, black mats protected the floors. The doors were locked tight. The windows wouldn’t roll down all the way and the tint made it hard to see through. The front of the car, from what she could make of it, contained the most modern of gadgets. She had overheard the driver answering a phone call on the car’s speaker earlier; someone called to ask how far away they were from their "destination". The reply from the driver was noncommittal - We’ll be there shortly. Smugly, she guessed it was going to take a little longer than “shortly”.

Peering out the window again, she found the driver trying to mess with a jack. He was failing miserably. “So…” she drawled, “Never fixed a tire before?”

He stopped awkwardly attempting to open the jack to glare at her again before going back to his business. Finally he got the thing opened and looked down at the ground with a deep sigh. The roadside edge they had careened onto was littered with dead leaves and mud, among other things. With a roll of his eyes, the man knelt down, getting a squelchy noise for his trouble and got the jack installed under the car and started pumping. Anabeth felt the car tilt underneath her and she sat back down so as to not fall over. Pressing her lips to a thin line, she remembered what her friend Josi used to say. "Close your lips tight, Ana, anytime you feel like yellin’. The words will stay in and you’ll keep outta trouble." It was a chore, but she managed to stay quiet this time.

On the other hand, thinking of Josi made Ana want to cry. If they told her she was leaving her latest foster home, she could’ve said goodbye. Given the driver’s behavior, you’d think her some sort of delinquent but she was good at this foster house, on account of Josi and her constant stream of advice. She couldn’t think of a single attempt at acting out... this time. Oh she had done plenty in the past! Everything from slipping dye into the shampoo and freezing the mean girls underwear to wearing her clothes backward and talking gibberish to make her look stupid. But this time, she liked the director, Miss Ellie, and Josi and her other friends. This being spirited away in the early hours of the morning was almost too much to handle. Be bad, get sent to a new facility, be good and apparently the same thing happened.

Outside, the sun rose over the treetops and through the half open window she could make out birds flying between the trees and occasional squirrels. They could be about anywhere by now, even halfway to Mars. Except for those trees and a few spotty bushes in the nearby fields, the land was almost bare of vegetation.

"Sit back and calm yourself, child," cautioned the driver from outside the car. "I can’t be delivering you in such a state. Miss Ellie would be embarrassed to say the least." His comment startled the hell out of her, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. Who was he, anyway, telling her how to behave? She didn’t even know his name. Certainly she’d never met him before and he wasn’t part of Ms. Ellie’s usual staff.

“When are we getting where we’re going, then?” she called out, moving back to the window to peer down at the driver. “I need to pee.”

The man’s lips thinned to a straight line as he looked up at her. “If you don’t sit back down I’ll never get this tire on and we’ll never make it. We’ll be stuck in the woods, alone, at night. With wild animals. So. Sit back down and let me finish. You can pee when we get there.”

She took a deep breath and sat back in her seat, still as a statue. She could play the game as well as he. Whenever they stopped, wherever they stopped, she would be cold and robotic but extra polite so as to not embarrass Miss Ellie. Of course Miss Ellie’s personality was jovial and generous all the time, making it hard for Anabeth to think of Ellie as embarrassed. Nevertheless, Ana resolved to be patient.

_____________________________________________________

Damon and Arianna Hunt stood on the front steps of Hunt Manor and stared off at the driveway. Their hands were tucked firmly into their pockets against the chill of the Maine autumn air. Arianna eyed Damon thinking how easy the last century would have been if the Enclave hadn’t locked her magic deep inside and left Damon a fledgling magi. So many things hinged on the new plan he had thought up that her insides ached just thinking about another possible failure. She was a mess of knotted emotions on the inside, but projected a calm cool on the outside. One thing was for sure, their newest arrival would be delivered soon and the thought of that warmed Arianna more than anything at that moment. They could put Damon’s plan into motion with haste. “How long until Gordon said he’d have the new girl here?” she asked.

Damon shook his head, “I would’ve figured they’d have been here by now, honestly.”

Arianna pushed a blonde wisp back into the bun at the nape of her neck. “You men are never accurate. He could’ve at least told us ten minutes or some such.” She rolled her eyes. “As it is, I’m standing out here freezing, even with this coat on.” She was wearing a blue gown with a thick fur coat against the chill of impending winter and house slippers that were designed for indoor comfort. She hadn’t expected to be waiting outside so long. “Go inside and call him again.”

Damon disappeared and reappeared a few moments later. “There was a mishap with a tire, but he’s fixed it and they’ll be here in ten minutes.”

She took her hands out of her pockets and rubbed them together to generate some heat. “About time. I was beginning to think the girl had run off.”

“Gordon’s a perfectly fine transport, Arianna; you know that. He’s handled plenty of our hard-to-manage girls in the past.”

“Yes, but you never know what can happen with one of these brats. We’ve certainly had our fair share of attempted runaways, especially after they get here. There’s always one in every group; she could be that one.”

“True enough,” he let his eyes rove the barren front of the property. The slope of a low hill hid the driveway from the main road so they wouldn’t be able to make out Gordon’s car until it was right upon them.

“Either way, you’ll need to watch yourself around her. You remember what happened with Amelia.”

Damon’s face flushed as he recalled what Arianna was referring to. The stairs had been steep and the girl’s hand had just…slipped from his. There was this moment where she was floating and then tumbling down the stairs, finally landing at the foyer with a sickening thud.

“Fine, then I suppose you’d rather wait out here by yourself. I’ll send the twins if you’re going to keep reminding me of that.” He clenched and unclenched his fists. “Remember this: you need me; you have no magic without me. And without this girl, you have no keystone. So perhaps you’d like to apologize for bringing the subject up once again?”

Ice blue eyes flickered from staring at the driveway over to focus on Damon, her Consort, her husband by pretense, and she lifted her chin just slightly. “I don’t see what I need to apologize for. You’re the one who killed the last girl. You should be apologizing to me for the delay.”

He squinted against the glare of the morning sunlight when turning to look at his “wife”. Before he could think of a suitable reply, Arianna cut him off.

“Just go back inside. Send out the twins,” she scowled, waving him away, “And get Heather prepared to give this new girl a tour. What was her name again?”

“Anabeth Caerhart,” he said as he turned to go.

Just before he was in the door, Arianna spoke. “It had better work this time, Damon.”

He stopped, his back to her. “We won’t know until she’s here and I can see what I have to work with. But I’m hopeful.”

“Good,” was the only reply.

Damon paused a moment more before heading into the Manor, leaving Arianna alone on the steps, looking for all the world like a young girl waiting to meet a lover. He’d seen that look in her eye before and only hoped that what he told her was true. That this time they could succeed. That this time they would be back in power. He never confessed his doubts, though. He fancied his life far too much.

__________________________________________

The limo came around the bend, stirring up dust from the gravel road. Anabeth sat in the back seat, twisting her hair around her finger like she always did when she was uncomfortable. Right then, she got her first look at the palatial estate ahead and sunk back against the seat, her seatbelt pulling tight.

She didn’t like anything about this whole mess of changing houses. And on top of that, the huge manor before her was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. “Where are we?” she asked the driver. “Is that where we’re going?”

Gordon grunted what sounded like a yes and parked the car. Thorough the tinted back windows, Ana could see three figures in front of the stairs and the driver joining them in conversation. Meanwhile, she fidgeted with her seatbelt, her belly doing flip-flops from her nerves. The driver came back a few minutes later and opened the car door for Anabeth. As she got out, she had a full view of the three figures. A woman. Two men. Both men were a head taller than the woman and wore matching suits. The woman was wearing a blue gown and a fur coat that swept all the way to the ground.

Gordon cleared his throat and said, “Mrs. Hunt, this is Anabeth Caerhart,” and he added, to Ana, “This is Mrs. Hunt, the Director of the manor, and Raymond and Joseph. They are her assistants.”

Anabeth felt dwarfed by the two assistants and the Director; she just wanted to run away but the Arianna’s piercing stare held Ana in place. “Welcome to Hunt Manor, young lady. I have business to attend to but Raymond and Joseph here,” and she waved a hand to indicate the two men, “Will help you get settled.”

“I didn’t bring anything with me,” Ana said as she adjusted the robe she was wearing over her sweats and a t-shirt. Her tennis shoes peaked out at the bottom, clearly worn from frequent use.

“Nevermind that,” Mrs. Hunt cut her off. “You’ll be given a uniform here and will be expected to wear it. I’ll have an interview with you tonight after dinner; we can speak more then. With those parting words, the Director of Hunt Manor left the four standing at the entryway.

One of the twins told Gordon he could leave. As Ana watched the driver get into the limo, she couldn’t help but feel some relief. Her trip over here had left her shaken.

“C’mon then,” said the other man, Raymond. “We’ll show you to your room.”

Ana looked left and right, gawking like a tourist, as the two brothers marched her through the doorway and into an immense foyer with marble tiled flooring and carved, wooden walls. Not a second to waste, they moved immediately to the wide stairs and began to climb. When they got to the third floor, they paused in front of a door marked ‘235’ and unlocked it. “This’ll be yours. No locking the door. No wandering about where you shouldn’t be. Clear?”

“Yes,” Anabeth said meekly as she looked up at the brothers.

Both of them nodded and went back down the stairs. Ana thought that the twins were creepy. At least they weren’t going to hang around. Finally, she walked into her new room and found it larger than any room she’d ever had before. She was so used to sharing space with other girls and now she had a room all to herself. It seemed too good to be true.

A knock on the door startled her, causing her to jump a little ways into the air and spin around to see a girl standing in her doorway.

“I’m Heather, Heather Ingrum,” said the girl as she adjusted her glasses and tucked an unruly curl of hair back behind her ear. She was wearing a plain white jumper with a blue belt. In short, she looked for all the world as though she’d just come from the hospital.

“Anabeth Caerhart.”

“Pleased to meet you Anabeth. I’m to show you around the Manor so you don’t have to figure out where everything is on your own.”

Ana wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep. She’d been awake since 5am and was used to getting more hours. Yet here was an opportunity to see the rest of the manor. A flare of excitement caused her to say, “Sure, why not.”

As Heather left the room, Ana started to relax. At least it wasn’t the hulking twins showing her the place.

__________________________________________

Arianna sat in her favorite chair next to the fireplace. There was no fire lit but she stared at the charred bits of wood and ash and found comfort. This was where she did most of her thinking. And all of her thoughts were on Anabeth Caerhart.

A knock on the door to her Study interrupted Arianna’s reverie. “Come in.”

Damon entered the room with his usual air of confidence. He didn’t walk so much as he prowled. Arianna had been quite taken by him when she was younger but as the centuries passed, she came to the realization that he needed a strong hand to guide him. She was more than capable of being that. When he’d asked her for her as a Consort, nobody had been shocked. The bond was for life, joining together the very essence of two people. She’d accepted, of course; how could she have refused someone so potent both magically and physically. At the Manor, though, they took on the role of husband and wife and no one was the wiser. Sadly, since she had her magic locked away and Damon’s severely dampened, the bond that joined them was all they had left from the Underworld.

She turned her gaze on Damon. “What did Heather have to say about our newest acquisition?”

He was silent for some moments, which irritated Arianna, but before she said anything, he replied, “Heather feels that this Anabeth was aloof. Not her words exactly, but that was the gist of the conversation. You met her briefly, what did you think?”

Wrapping herself tighter in her robe, she said, “I got the impression that she’s young enough to be molded into whatever we need, but stubborn enough to be something of a problem.”

Damon sat in the chair opposite his Consort. “I can work the stubborn out of her, if that’s what you want?” His eyes were fixed on Arianna, daring her to give him permission.

“No, not again. The last girl you tried to break died and we were swimming in paperwork and police visits for weeks.”

“Alright then,” he sighed, resisting the urge to strangle Arianna for mentioning the girl’s death again. Instead, he leaned back and said, “You run the show, boss.”

Arianna let the boss comment slide. She didn’t want to be picking fights with her Consort over something so trivial, even if it riled her to be called that. “I have her interview tonight and I was thinking about presenting myself as Headmistress. This girl is likely to have attended school at some point, I hope. We’ll have to see what group to put her in.” Her thoughts meandered through the possibilities. “She’s younger than Heather but I think, if anyone can ruin an aloof attitude, it’s Heather.”

Damon nodded, letting Arianna come to her own conclusions. After centuries of living with her, he knew her moods like the back of his hand.

“Is she magically inclined at all?”

“We have several girls who are sensitive to magic, but without a trigger they’ll never amount to anything more. Anabeth is likely one of those. Though,” he paused, trying to find the right words, “I’ve been Sensing several small intrusions in my magical nets. Those nets are specifically to keep out the creatures of other affinities. My undines report that they’ve seen salamanders poking around. It’s possible that she’s more than sensitive.”

“Will it matter to your plans if Anabeth has no magic about her whatsoever?”

“Unfortunately, yes. If she’s to act as our keystone, she’ll need to have some magic.”

Arianna waved a hand at Damon, shooing him away. Anabeth would be here soon and she needed to prepare for the interview. “Go, I’ll touch base with you later tonight.”

Without a word, Damon got up and left. Arianna watched him go and smiled to herself. This time, she felt the plan was going to work. She would regain her powers and return to the Underworld and the Enclave of Magi wouldn’t be able to stop her. If only she could keep Damon from breaking the girl. They couldn’t afford another mishap like that.

__________________________________________

When Ana finally returned to her room, she put away the set of white dresses and blue sashes that the Laundry had given her following the interview. Then, she tucked herself in beneath the comforter, tears barely held back at the corners of her eyes. Silence reigned the house, at least on the residential floors, and nothing could be heard outside the window.

All her thoughts were swimming as she reeled, thinking about the interview. Hah, interview! It was like an interrogation! she thought. After waiting for two hours following dinner, they called her down to the Study. She was still wearing her faded t-shirt and sweats. The moment Mrs. Hunt greeted her and offered her a seat, the room felt smothering. Mrs. Hunt then proceeded to say everything that was wrong with her mannerisms and her looks, telling her she would have uniforms instead of her ‘ratty shirt and pants’ or whatever that meant. At least it explained why Heather looked so outlandish.

Tonight, she found herself grossly outmatched. Mrs. Hunt very directly informed Ana that Mrs. Hunt was the Director and Headmistress and Ana, the pupil. It felt very much like a scolding, but she hadn’t even been at the Manor for a full day to be in trouble! And the questions. Oh, the many, many questions. For every answer Ana gave, Mrs. Hunt had two more questions. Did she know her parents? How many boarding schools and foster homes had she been removed from? How far had she progressed in the arts? What were the roots to a quadratic equation? Did she think of herself as an intelligent person? Was she religious? Did she find herself to be morally flexible? Had she ever been convicted of a crime or hurt another person? Was she a troublemaker? The litany seemed endless.

By the time the interview ended, she was presented with a schedule of classes and reminded, none too gently, to go to the Laundry for suitable clothes. Ana felt turned around and out of sorts so she nodded and said she would make sure to take care of her clothes. With a succinct nod and a flick of one wrist, Ana was waved away by Mrs. Hunt without further word. The girl removed herself as quickly as possible and headed back out the door and into the hallway.

Lying in bed now, struggling to keep the tears from falling, Ana clenched her teeth hard and tried to drum up some anger. Especially thinking about Mrs. Hunt asking her if she had been convicted of a crime or hurt someone! And wondering if she was a troublemaker, too. The tears receded somewhat and she felt a little more normal. The worst part had been that she felt like a child and a bad child at that. This new Headmistress was out to get her and Ana had no idea what she might’ve done to provoke it. Surely Heather’s comments couldn’t have persuaded Mrs. Hunt to hate Ana outright.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She pulled back the comforter and got up, putting on her new slippers and smoothing out her new nightgown - both white and made of some thick but soft fabric. Brushing her hair away from her face and wiping the moisture from the corners of each eye, she went to the door and opened it a crack.

Outside stood Heather in a hideous set of matching pajamas. "Heard you passed your interview. Wanted to congratulate you...that is...if you want company?" said Heather tentatively.

"I was about to go to sleep," Ana began, sorely wanting company but afraid to trust anyone. A disappointed look on Heather’s face stopped her. Instead, she offered, "But I doubt I’ll be able to get much sleep after that interview so, yea, come on in, I guess?"

"Um, so..." Ana said, lamely, looking around for places to sit that weren’t the floor.

"Can we sit on the bed...?" Heather suggested, with one eyebrow raised. Ana nodded and the two piled on.

"Oh wow, your bed is so soft! Mine is hard as a rock," pouted Heather, "But it’s ok, cause none of us got to choose, right?" She chuckled at herself, then asked, "So, did she ask you if you were smart?", getting right to the point.

"Yea, that and about a hundred other questions," replied Ana, which received a sympathetic nod. "Its as if she wanted me to say something specific, but she just wouldn’t ask straight out." Ana’s brow furrowed as she tried to describe the experience. "All I know is she hates me."

"Silly Ana, that’s her job," interjected Heather, "She doesn’t much like any of us. But she has to run this place. It was, like, given to her by her parents or something and she’s lived here all her life. It’s not like she’s got any more choice in being here than we do."

"Soooo..." started Ana, then Heather interrupted her saying, in a low voice, "By the way, have you met her husband, Damon, yet?" Everything hushed at that moment and Ana had the impression that meeting Mrs. Hunt’s husband was not a good thing. "No, I haven’t," Ana said.

Heather said, "Trust me, you don’t want to. He’s the real mean one." She motioned toward the door. "Many of the other girls have had run-ins with him. Once, he was called in to substitute for one of our classes, English, I think. And he got a phone call in the middle of class and stepped out into the hallway to answer it. Well," and here Heather’s voice dropped almost to a whisper, "We could all hear him talking and he yelled, calling the other person stupid and incompetent and telling the person that they were a dead man because they’re screwed up something important." Her eyes were wide as she remembered that day. "When he came back in, we all tried to pretend we didn’t hear anything, but it was so obvious that we had. He gave us all triple work for the day and told us if we didn’t finish, all of us would have detention and spend the whole next day weeding the back gardens. Thankfully, only one of us got detention. Poor Daisy. She’s such a slow writer. But she got back at him, she said." Heather winked.

Ana looked at Heather, incredulously. "How did she get back at him? I wouldn’t even want to go near Damon to play a prank if he’s as bad as you say!"

Heather’s lips widened in a grin. "Oh, well, he has this corner of the back gardens where he grows some weird spices. Who knows what he uses them for. But when we’re all in Horticulture with him, the first place he goes is that one corner with the little greenhouse. Since Daisy was the only one with detention that day, she put a crimp on his watering tube and all his spices wilted a few days later. He couldn’t prove it was her," she grinned, "She wore gloves." She practically beamed, clearly proud of her friend’s deception. Then, she finished, "Let’s say that was brave and stupid and don’t you think to do anything like that, Ana." At last, she looked out the window and said, "It’s why Amelia isn’t with us anymore."

Ana was confused, but curious. "Who was Amelia?"

A short while passed before Heather replied, "She used to live in this room. But, um, she’s no longer with us."

"Isn’t with you... as in, she’s dead?" Ana asked, mouth hanging open. This sort of news she was not expecting.

"Yea, dead. And no one could prove how she died, but it wasn’t natural. The police were here for days, interviewing and questioning and poking around. But they never found anything and didn’t charge anyone. And we all knew it was Damon, but we couldn’t prove it either. Saying something," Heather gulped, "Well, we all thought we’d be next if we said something."

"That’s terrible!" Ana cried out, a little loud. She covered her mouth with her hands, causing the other girl to smile.

"It was terrible, so we avoid Damon if we can. Most of the other girls think he’s taken a liking to me," Heather pointed out, "They think it’s cause I’m the oldest girl here."

Neither one said anything for a few moments then Heather shook her head and rolled her eyes. "He doesn’t like me. I make myself useful is all. I admit, though... he was asking a lot of questions about you, Ana." The blond looked over at Ana, her lips quirked. "I think I may have given him a bad impression of you," she smiled apologetically, "I’m sorry. I...I didn’t know you at all, so I shouldn’t have said anything. Damon’s just...hard to resist telling things to. He’s so demanding." She paused, "I know we aren’t friends or anything, but I am sorry."

So this was it, Ana thought to herself. Time to decide if she wanted friends here or not. She was on her own, but she would need allies. There was no way she could face Mrs. Hunt or Damon or any of the other adults here without help. And here, help seemed offered on a silver platter. "I...understand. It’s ok. And, um, we can be friends, if you want."

"Oh yea, that’d be great!" said Heather with a smile.

For the first time, Ana felt a hint of real comfort in her new home. She offered her hand to Heather, receiving a firm shake in return. "So, friends. I don’t have many friends," said Ana. "It’s nice, I think."

Heather got up from the bed a moment later, checking the clock. "I should go before they see lights up here and send Ray and Joe to shoo me off," Heather said with a yawn.

"Oh, ok," said Ana with regret. She was just getting used to the idea of having the Heather there and now she was leaving. "Will I be in classes with you tomorrow?"

Heather answered, "All of us older girls take English with Ms. Kim in the morning and have Latin in the afternoon with Ms. Elizabeth. Maths and Horticulture are the next day. Mid-Week, which was yesterday, is for field trips. I’m not sure where we’re going next week. But you’re... wait, how old are you?"

"Twelve, but thirteen soon."

"Oh, then you’ll likely be in classes with me. I’m fifteen and you’ll meet Daisy, she’s fourteen. Once you pass twelve you are in the upper grades here."

"Ok, see you in the morning, then?" Ana said as Heather stopped for a moment.

"Yea, in the morning. Be careful. The first few weeks are always the hardest, but you’ll learn. Keep your head down and do exactly what’s asked. No attitude, remember?" Heather waved, "Night Ana. Glad we can be friends." And then she was gone and the door shut, leaving Ana alone with her thoughts.

A wave of exhaustion hit then, forcing Ana to yawn. It had been the longest day she’d had in a long time. Too many things passed and she needed time to think. She crawled back under the comforter and hugged the blanket to her chest. Her need to cry abated and she somehow made a new friend. Maybe, she hoped as she was drifting off to sleep, this place wouldn’t be so bad.