Laurie thought about what she’d seen on the Other Side, in that empty hollowed House through the den door, and the conversation she’d had with her mother—her adoptive mother, she amended, although that coldly matter-of-fact description did not in any way do justice to their relationship. They’d talked about family things, about her father and Josh, and although they had not had time to discuss the House before her mother had flown away, she’d told Laurie that she had come to visit “while you were here,” and Laurie put the most positive spin on that statement and took it to mean that there was a possibility of escape.

But nothing made sense, nothing fit together in any sort of logical manner. She’d been thrilled to see her mother again, emotionally overwhelmed, but her mother’s physical appearance had been truly bizarre, and the conversation they’d had had been filled with disconcerting non sequiturs.

“So we don’t need to understand anything,” Daniel said. “We just need to live here and charge up the batteries.”

The assistant grinned. “Bingo.”

“What about when they’re fully charged again?” Norton asked. “Can we leave then? Will our jobs be done?”

“Oh, no. You can never leave.”

“Why not?”

“The Houses don’t want you to.”

“So we’re supposed to just—”

“Make the best of it.”

Laurie listened silently to this exchange. She was still not sure how she felt about Billington—Billings—and that was one thing she wanted to talk to the others about. He was clearly not affiliated with Dawn—he hadn’t even been aware of the girl’s existence until she’d told him about her—but even though the girl was evil, did that automatically make Billings good? She wasn’t sure. He didn’t seem… bad, exactly. But he was not a knight in shining armor, either. And the fact that he was keeping them here against their will, or was aiding the House in doing so, suggested that his motives were not all that pure.

Billings pointed toward the tray of hors d’oeuvres. “Eat up,” he said. “There’s plenty more where that came from.” He smiled at them, headed toward the kitchen. “You can talk behind my back for a few minutes. I’ll return in a moment with your meals.”

They did not talk behind his back, though. They were afraid to. And when he returned soon after with a tray of roast beef, they were eating in silence.

SIX

Norton