“Really? What exactly was the point of stabbing me and leaving me in a burning house?”

Before I could respond, Eddie charged her, swinging his bola in the air. With a flick of the wrist, she made a wall of mirrors beside him shatter. I saw it coming but wasn’t quite fast enough in dismissing my fireball in a favor of a shield for him. I deflected part of the damage, but some of the glass embedded itself in him, particularly his bare arm. I saw a brief flash of pain pass over his features, but he didn’t stop moving. Alicia shattered another mirror, and this time, I had an invisible shield squarely in place to protect him. He released the bola, but despite its perfect aim and fast speed, she anticipated it and blew it away with a wave of invisible force.

“Where’s Jill?” I yelled at her.

A cruel smile twisted over Alicia’s features. “You’d love to know that, wouldn’t you?”

Eddie picked up a piece of broken glass and came running toward her, wielding it like a knife. “I swear, if you’ve hurt her—”

“Oh, honestly. As if I’d waste my time hurting her.” Alicia took out a pinch of powder from her pocket, throwing it at Eddie and shouting an incantation I didn’t know. I wasn’t able to intercept this one in time, and the magic seized Eddie. Like that, he froze in place, midstride and holding the glass shard menacingly in his hand.

“What have you done to him?” I cried.

“Relax, Sydney,” Alicia said. “He’s still alive. Just like your little Moroi friend—for now.”

“Take me to her!” I demanded.

Alicia laughed. “Sorry, Sydney. You’ll never see her again. She’s going to have to suffer through a few more psalms . . . and you? You’re just going to suffer . . .”

The floor under my feet rippled. I staggered and fell to my knees but was able to throw a fireball at Alicia before I completely lost my balance. My aim was spot-on, but she lifted her hands to cast what I suspected was another shielding spell. The incantation she spoke was Greek, one I hadn’t heard before either. The fireball hit another unseen wall, but rather than shatter, the flames rebounded and came back toward me in exactly the same path. I yelped and managed to get out of its way just in time. I was spared, but the fireball hit a cabinet instead, engulfing it in flames. The fire spread quickly, making me wonder what kind of varnish Wolfe used. At the same time, the alarm finally stopped blaring.

“Mirroring spell,” Alicia said gleefully. “Very useful. Be careful what you cast.”