Ninth House

This chapter continues Daniel’s perspective of his first meeting with Alex. After calling off the jackals, he introduces her to Pamela, or “Oculus,” a grad student who takes care of the clubhouse and of Lethe members. She is an introvert who hates loud noise and new people. Daniels shows Alex around the Lethe mansion, where both Dante and Virgil have their own sets of rooms. Alex seems unimpressed with the opulent interior.

Daniel recalls what he knows about Alex: She and another young woman had been found at a crime scene where five men had been beaten to death. The police were unable to solve the case.

Alex tells Daniel that she has always been able to see Greys; for a long time, she thought they were regular people. Only after Child Services got involved did she realize that they were not.

At the end of their tour, Darlington shows Alex a box filled with magical moths. The insects can absorb any kind of ink and transfer it to anything else. The young woman takes off her shirt, displaying the extensive tattoos covering her arms. The moths feed on her tattoos, showing Alex magic for the first time.