I haven’t asked him much about his demon problem yet. I want Mum and Dad to hear the whole story. I know for certain that Mum’s done a course in demonology, and Dad knows a lot about magickal law; it was part of his linguistics training.

I’ve only got the usual demon training: Don’t talk to them. Don’t take sweets from them. Never, ever get in their vans.

It’s not usually a danger. Demons don’t just show up—they have to be summoned.

“All right,” I say, when we’re off the Tube and walking down my street, “we’re almost there. Remember, you promised not to ask impertinent questions.”

“I remember.”

“Maybe just don’t ask any questions—I don’t trust you to judge what’s pertinent.”

“Do you have to cast a spell to reveal it?” he asks.

“To reveal pertinence?”

“No, your house—is it magickally hidden?”

I can feel the disdain on my face. “How would we get our mail if our house was magickally hidden?”

“So, you just … walk in?”

“Well”—I turn up the path to our house—“I have to use a key.”

Shepard frowns up at the brick two-storey. It’s painted light blue, and my dad’s planted hydrangeas out front.

“Magicians don’t all live in caves and castles,” I say. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Do any magicians live in caves and castles?”

“This is what I mean about impertinent questions.”

I open the door and let him in. The house is a mess; it’s always a mess. Too many people live here, too many people with too many things, and nobody cares overly much about cleaning. Both my parents work long hours—though that’s shifted some recently. With the Mage gone, Mum took over the headmaster’s post at Watford. And with the Humdrum gone, my dad’s work on magickal dead spots is less critical. He’s spending less time in his lab and more time managing my siblings.

I have three brothers and one sister, and they’re all home for the summer. Premal, the oldest, moved back home a year and a half ago, when the Mage’s Men were disbanded. Premal still doesn’t have a job, and he hasn’t started university, but Mum won’t let anyone mention it.

After the news broke—that the Mage was a power-mad murderer—one of the other Mage’s Men, a boy from Premal’s year, tried to kill himself. No one in our house is allowed to mention that either.