Ninth House

Darlington’s family was once the wealthy manufacturers of rubber boots, but the business declined. Darlington’s mother was a professor of Renaissance Art, while his father was always between jobs in the finance sector. They enjoyed living the life of rich people, but depended on his grandfather’s money and periodically came back to the Black Elm family estate to try to convince him to sell the land. The grandfather was so disappointed in his son that he bribed him and his daughter-in-law to let him raise Daniel in return for an apartment in New York City.

When his grandfather became sick, Darlington’s parents took up residence at Black Elm. Daniel felt hostile towards them–he had been disappointed by their lack of love too many times. After his grandfather’s death, there was very little money left. Darlington did not want to part with the house and locked himself away in his room. After his parents left, he continued with life like before, attending school and frequenting the Yale library and the Peabody museum. Darlington was completely alone in the house. Sometime in the fall, the electricity was cut off. For two years, he lived in the cold and dark, doing homework by candlelight and sleeping in old ski clothes. When his parents arrived at Christmas with expensive gifts, he locked them out, eventually getting several small jobs to pay for utilities and food.

There was nothing left for Daniel except magic. One day, he attempted to brew a magical elixir. A UPS driver found him the following day with blood coming out of his eyes and mouth. Darlington went to the hospital where Dean Sandow offered him a position at Lethe House. 

In order for the Bridegroom to fulfill his side of the deal, Alex needs to find a personal belonging of Tara’s. She goes to the police station to talk to Turner. While waiting for him at the New Haven Station, she looks up information on the Bridegroom. In 1854, Bertram North and his fiancée, Daisy Whitlock, were found dead in the offices of a carriage company. The police at the time had speculated that Daisy wanted to break off the engagement and that Bertram killed her and then took his own life.

By pretending to want to talk to Tara’s boyfriend to enrage Turner, Alex finds out the dead girl’s address. After the success of her manipulation, Alex realizes that she has not truly changed despite her new life at Yale and that her real self is “coiled like a serpent in the false skin of who she pretended to be” (248).

When Alex gets back to her dorm, two of her roommates tell her that Blake, an athlete, and one of his friends drugged and raped Mercy the previous night. What is even worse, there is a video of Mercy looking normal and agreeing to everything, so Mercy does not want to involve the police. Alex recognizes the signs of a magical drug and decides to take things into her own hands. 

The drug used on Mercy is Merity, made from very rare and restricted plant available only to Manuscript society members. Using the fact that on Halloween she did not reported two of the members for using unsanctioned drugs on Darlington, she expects them to perform a ritual to produce Starpower—a powder that allows a person to influence others. Alex plans on taking the powder and getting Blake to delete the video.

Alex goes to the fraternity where Blake lives and makes him and his friends hand over their phones, so she can delete the video. She concocts revenge. 

After returning to her dorm, Alex cajoles Mercy into coming to dinner. While they are eating, someone shows them a video of Blake scooping water from a clogged toilet and taking a mouthful of excrement. The video has been sent to all of Blake’s contacts from his phone, so no one knows of Alex’s involvement. After seeing the video, Mercy feels better and is able to eat her dinner.