Brice.
“Better,” said Reuben calmly, and he nodded towards the window. “Now Brice can tell us what going on up at the house.”
“Oh, that,” Brice said in a careless voice. “My evil rellies are having a get-together.”
“Like a party, you mean?” I said.
“You have no idea how big my family is, have you?” He clocked Lola’s scathing expression. “No, I’m not boasting, Sanchez. I’m trying to explain that this is not some small local nightmare you’ve stumbled into. It’s global, baby. The cars you saw just now? They’re just the latecomers. Guests have been arriving from all over the world for days.”
“OK, so your family has flash parties,” Lola began but Brice ignored her.
“That house with its oh-so-distressing vibes belongs to my uncle, Jonas de Winter. Didn’t you realise? He’s the Phoenix school headmaster.”
My mouth completely turned to cotton wool. What’s wrong with this picture , I’d asked. Now I knew.
It wasn’t the school which was radiating confusing signals. It was my lovely, perfect dream house.
Brice gave a grim laugh. “You’ve got to hand it to the de Winters. We’re adaptable. War is out. Peace is in. Hey, let’s take over a Phoenix school and use it as cover for our less respectable activities.”
Lola frowned. “So why the party?”
He looked surprised. “To celebrate Dom’s achievement, obviously.”
“Huh?” Lola and I stared at him.
“Oh, do try to keep up, you guys!” said Reuben impatiently. “Dom reinvented the time device. Didn’t you figure that out yet?”
I stared at him. “But he’s just a kid.”
“A Phoenix kid,” he said. “A boy genius.”
It seemed that de Winter scientists had been trying to reconstruct the device for decades. But there was one tiny detail they simply couldn’t figure out.
Then Dom won a major science prize and the Family were over the moon. Maybe little Dom could succeed where the scientists had failed. Someone “accidentally” left the relevant research material at Dom’s mum’s place, where he was bound to find it in the holidays. Then they sat back and waited. They didn’t have to wait long.
“Dom knocks a prototype together in like, a weekend, but my little brother is a total innocent. He has absolutely no idea what he’s got himself into! So what does he do with this world-shattering invention?” Brice looked as if he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“He runs a time-tour scam for his mates?” I suggested.
Brice made an impatient gesture. “The little idiot could have got himself killed, but do you think Mum and the rest of them care? No, they just want to know if the thing actually works. So they simply look the other way and let him take all these stupid risks.”
“Can’t someone stop them?” I asked.
“No-one stops the de Winters, believe me. Oh, sure they’re human. Just. If you stick pins in them, they bleed. When their hearts stop, they snuff it. But there’s always another de Winter to take their place.”
“But the government—” I objected feebly.
He shook his head. “The government has no idea they’re here. The de Winters are masters at camouflaging their activities. It’s an art form, how they operate. They suck people in so gradually they don’t even notice it happening. A well-timed reward here, a little painful pressure there, until they own you body and soul.”
“They’ll never own Dom,” I said fiercely.
“‘They’ll never own Dom’,” he mimicked. ‘Don’t make me laugh. They’d have got him years ago, if it wasn’t for me.”
“So how come you were allowed back to these times to keep an eye on your brother?” said Reuben.
There was an electric pause, then Brice said lightly, “Oh, the usual deal.”
“You made a deal with the Agency?” I was shocked.
Lola shook her head. “He sold his soul, Boo. To the PODS.”
Brice shrugged. “The great thing about the Dark Powers is they keep things simple. They don’t give
“Better,” said Reuben calmly, and he nodded towards the window. “Now Brice can tell us what going on up at the house.”
“Oh, that,” Brice said in a careless voice. “My evil rellies are having a get-together.”
“Like a party, you mean?” I said.
“You have no idea how big my family is, have you?” He clocked Lola’s scathing expression. “No, I’m not boasting, Sanchez. I’m trying to explain that this is not some small local nightmare you’ve stumbled into. It’s global, baby. The cars you saw just now? They’re just the latecomers. Guests have been arriving from all over the world for days.”
“OK, so your family has flash parties,” Lola began but Brice ignored her.
“That house with its oh-so-distressing vibes belongs to my uncle, Jonas de Winter. Didn’t you realise? He’s the Phoenix school headmaster.”
My mouth completely turned to cotton wool. What’s wrong with this picture , I’d asked. Now I knew.
It wasn’t the school which was radiating confusing signals. It was my lovely, perfect dream house.
Brice gave a grim laugh. “You’ve got to hand it to the de Winters. We’re adaptable. War is out. Peace is in. Hey, let’s take over a Phoenix school and use it as cover for our less respectable activities.”
Lola frowned. “So why the party?”
He looked surprised. “To celebrate Dom’s achievement, obviously.”
“Huh?” Lola and I stared at him.
“Oh, do try to keep up, you guys!” said Reuben impatiently. “Dom reinvented the time device. Didn’t you figure that out yet?”
I stared at him. “But he’s just a kid.”
“A Phoenix kid,” he said. “A boy genius.”
It seemed that de Winter scientists had been trying to reconstruct the device for decades. But there was one tiny detail they simply couldn’t figure out.
Then Dom won a major science prize and the Family were over the moon. Maybe little Dom could succeed where the scientists had failed. Someone “accidentally” left the relevant research material at Dom’s mum’s place, where he was bound to find it in the holidays. Then they sat back and waited. They didn’t have to wait long.
“Dom knocks a prototype together in like, a weekend, but my little brother is a total innocent. He has absolutely no idea what he’s got himself into! So what does he do with this world-shattering invention?” Brice looked as if he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“He runs a time-tour scam for his mates?” I suggested.
Brice made an impatient gesture. “The little idiot could have got himself killed, but do you think Mum and the rest of them care? No, they just want to know if the thing actually works. So they simply look the other way and let him take all these stupid risks.”
“Can’t someone stop them?” I asked.
“No-one stops the de Winters, believe me. Oh, sure they’re human. Just. If you stick pins in them, they bleed. When their hearts stop, they snuff it. But there’s always another de Winter to take their place.”
“But the government—” I objected feebly.
He shook his head. “The government has no idea they’re here. The de Winters are masters at camouflaging their activities. It’s an art form, how they operate. They suck people in so gradually they don’t even notice it happening. A well-timed reward here, a little painful pressure there, until they own you body and soul.”
“They’ll never own Dom,” I said fiercely.
“‘They’ll never own Dom’,” he mimicked. ‘Don’t make me laugh. They’d have got him years ago, if it wasn’t for me.”
“So how come you were allowed back to these times to keep an eye on your brother?” said Reuben.
There was an electric pause, then Brice said lightly, “Oh, the usual deal.”
“You made a deal with the Agency?” I was shocked.
Lola shook her head. “He sold his soul, Boo. To the PODS.”
Brice shrugged. “The great thing about the Dark Powers is they keep things simple. They don’t give
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