“We were alone in a strange mansion with a baboon, a crocodile, and a weird cat. And apparently, the entire world was in danger.I looked at Sadie. “What do we do now?”

“I looked across the river to Manhattan. It was a great view. When Sadie and I had first arrived at Brooklyn House, Amos had told us that magicians tried to stay out of Manhattan. He said Manhattan had other problems--whatever that meant. And sometimes when I looked across the water, I could swear I was seeing things. Sadie laughed about it, but once I thought I saw a flying horse. Probably just the mansion's magic barriers causing optical illusions, but still, it was weird.”

“Oh, god,” I said. “Sorry, sorry. Do I die now?”--Sadie to Zia”

“Right,” I said. “So the baboon, the crocodile…any other pets I should know about?”Amos thought for a moment. “Visible ones? No, I think that’s it.”

“Zia turned toward us, her expression grim. “I will show you to your quarters. In the morning, your testing begins. We will see what magic you know, and how you know it.”I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I exchanged an uneasy look with Sadie.“Sounds fun,” Sadie ventured. “And it we fail this test?”Zia regarded her coldly. “This is not the sort of test you fail, Sadie Kane. You pass or you die.”

“That’s right, Sadie. For our first real date, I picked up Zia in a boat pulled by a deranged griffin. So what? Like your dates aren’t weird?”

“I looked back, but Bast and Sadie seemed fine. They were still staring at the water as if it were some amazing Internet video.”