“Cryptic Dad is cryptic,' I muttered ... We'd hung out all day today. Was there no time in there he could have said, 'Oh, hey, meet me at the magical bookcase at the butt-crack of dawn tomorrow, cool?”

“Was there no time in there he could have said, "Oh,hey,meet me at the magical bookcase at the butt-crack of dawn tomorrow,cool?"And what the heck did he want to do at that bookcase?”

“Dad got that faraway look in his eyes, the one that said he was about to go in search of really ancient books and cryptic passages.”

“Why haven't you told me the truth about you and Archer?""We were just friends," I said. "How many times do I have to say it?"When he didn't say anything, I rolled my eyes. "Okay,so I liked him. I had a crush on him,and-" I wasn't sure if the heat in my face was from embarrassment or anger. "And yes, one time we kissed. But it was just the once,and about ten seconds afterward,I found out he was an Eye."Dad nodded. "And that's it.That's the whole story."Why oh why wasn't there a giant hole in the floor that I could plummet through, perferably to my death? "That,that's it.""Well,that's something," Dad said, running a hand through his hair. "At some point, I want you to add that to your original statement."We were quiet for a long time before I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress and said, "Is there anything else horrible happening that I need to know about?"Dad gave a humorless laugh as he ushered me toward the door. "I believe that covers all the current horror.”

“Whatever. I can't even imagine having a fiance.""You probably have one, you know."I stared at him. "Excuse me?""Your dad is a really important guy. I'm sure he made a match for you when you were thirteen."I didn't even want to get into that. The thought that there was some warlock out there who was planning on making me his missus one day was too much to handle. What if he was here at Hecate? What if I knew the guy? Oh God, what if it was that kid with bad breath who sat right behind me in Magical Evolution?I made a mental note to ask my mom about all of this as soon as I decided to speak to her again.”

“I expected Dad to do his usual brisk thing and say something like, "Excellent. I will anxiously await your pronouncement on this significant matter." Instead, he just looked relieved and said, "Good."Thinking we were done, I moved toward the door, but Dad stepped in front of it. "We're not quite finised yet."I blinked at him, surprised. "I could try to break some more mirrors if you really want me to, Dad, but I'm kind of wiped out. Between last night and today, there's been an awful lot of magin flyin' around for me,and-"He shook his head. "No,not that. We have one more matter to discuss."I didn't need my new psychic senses to tell me something bad was coming. "What?"Dad took a deep breath and folded his arms. "I want you to tell me about Archer Cross.”

“We could try to go together, "I said. "I think we'd both fit, and that way, if we end up transported to another dimension or morphed into a wall, at least we'd have company.”