“I can tell you what the eye wanted with Sophie...we heard she was particularly skilled qt Chutes and Ladders, and since The Eye holds a Chutes and Ladders tournament every summer”

“Her eyes, however, were every bit as hard and shiny as the varnish on Dad's desk."Sophie, there you are! Where have you been the past few days? We've hardly seen you.""A-around?" I stuttered, inwardly cringing. Oh,that was an awesome alibi.”

“Do you remember the section on controlling demons in Demonologies? I believe it's in chapter five.""Um...no."Irritation flashed over his face. "Honestly, Sophie, I gave you that book for a reason.""And I'm really sorry, but it's long and boring,and can we just skip to the part where you tell me what it says?”

“Names are just words. I know that. But learning that the last name I’d used all my life was fake…“So what should I call myself, then?” I asked. “Sophie Atherton? Sophie Brannick?” Both sounded weird and made me feel like I was wearing clothes that didn’t fit.Mom smiled and brushed my hair away from my face. “You can call yourself whatever you want.”“Okay. Sophie Awesome Sparkle-Princess it is.”

“Great. We can pick out our colors.""What?""For the wedding. I'm thinking melon and mint. Supposed to be really hot next spring."Cal laughed out loud, the first time I'd ever heard him do that. "It's a plan. See ya, Sophie.”

“Sophie, I have to tell your mother about what happened."I suppressed a groan. I'd known this was coming, but I was hoping we could put it off until after Dad got back. I had a lot going on, and the last thing I wanted was a worried mom on top of all of that."Dad,she's just going to freak. And probably come here and get me, and then you guys will start yelling at each other, and I'll have to act out by wearing lots of eyeliner and doing drugs. Do you really want to deal with that?”

“Or maybe your magic isn't that destructive after all. The rain of Doritos, the bed thing,this...Maybe it's just that you create too big, you know?"When I could find my voice, I said, "Cal, that might be the nicest thing anyone's said to me since we got here."He twirled one of the naked roots between his fingers, and didn't meet my eyes. "It's true." Then he glanced up and gave one of those half smiles I was really starting to like. "And it's also true that I need to find another pot for this guy.I,uh, guess I'll see you at dinner.""Great.We can pick out our colors.""What?""For the wedding. I'm thinking melon and mint. Supposed to be really hot next spring."Cal laughed out loud,the first time I'd ever heard him do that. "It's a plan. See ya, Sophie.”