Auras didn’t weird me out as much as other vampire magic, but I still wasn’t entirely comfortable with them. “What color is mine?”
“Yellow, of course.”
“Of course?”
“Smart, analytic types usually have yellow. You’ve got a little purple here and there, though.” Even in the dimness, I could see a mischievous spark in his eyes. “That’s what makes you interesting.”
“What’s purple mean?”
Adrian put his hand on the door. “Gotta go, Sage. Don’t want to keep Dorothy waiting.”
“Come on. Tell me what purple is.” I was so curious, I nearly grabbed his arm.
He turned the knob. “I will if you want to join us.”
“Adrian—”
Laughing, he disappeared inside the room and shut the door. With a shake of my head, I started to return to the others and then decided to seek out my Diet Coke after all. I lingered with it in the kitchen for a while, leaning against the granite countertops and staring absentmindedly at the brilliant copper pots hanging from the ceiling. Why had I agreed to drive Adrian? What was it about him that managed to crack all the propriety and logic I built my life around? I understood why I often had a soft spot for Jill. She reminded me of my younger sister, Zoe. But Adrian? He wasn’t like anyone I knew. In fact, I was fairly certain there was no one in the entire world quite like Adrian Ivashkov.
I delayed so long that when I returned to the living room, Adrian was on his way back too. I sat down on the couch, nursing the last of my Diet Coke. Sonya brightened upon seeing me.
“Sydney, we just had a wonderful idea.”
Maybe I wasn’t always the quickest in picking up social cues, but I did notice this wonderful idea was addressed to me, and not Adrian and me.
“We were just talking about the reports from the night of the… incident.” She gave Clarence a meaningful look, and I nodded in understanding. “Both the Moroi and the Alchemists said the Strigoi had trouble with your blood too, correct?”
I stiffened, not liking this at all. It was a conversation I’d lived in fear of. The Strigoi who’d killed Lee hadn’t just had “trouble” with my blood. Lee’s had tasted strange to them. Mine had been disgusting. The one who’d tried to drink from me hadn’t been able to tolerate it at all. She’d even spit it out.
“Yes…” I said carefully.
“Obviously, you’re not a restored Strigoi,” said Sonya. “But we’d like to take a look at your blood too. Maybe there’s something about it that could help us. A small sample should suffice.”
All eyes were on me, even Clarence’s. The room started to close in as a familiar panic filled me. I had thought a lot about why the Strigoi hadn’t liked my blood—actually, I’d tried to avoid thinking about it. I didn’t want to believe there was anything special about me. There couldn’t be. I didn’t want to attract anyone’s attention. It was one thing to facilitate these experiments and another to actually be a subject. If they wanted me for one test, they might want me for something else. And then something else. I’d end up locked away, poked and prodded.
There was also the fact that I just didn’t want to give up my blood. It didn’t matter that I liked Sonya and Dimitri. It didn’t matter that the blood would be drawn with a needle, not teeth. The basic concept was still there, a taboo stemming from the most rudimentary of Alchemist beliefs: giving blood to vampires was wrong. It was my blood. Mine. No one—especially vampires—had any business with it.
I swallowed, hoping I didn’t look like I wanted to bolt. “It was only one Strigoi’s opinion. And you know they don’t like humans as well as… you guys.” That was part of why the Moroi lived in such fear and had seen their numbers reduced over time. They were the crème de la crème of Strigoi cuisine. “That’s probably all it was.”
“Perhaps,” said Sonya. “But there’s no harm done in checking.” Her face was alight with this new idea. I hated turning her down… but my principles on this matter were too strong. It was everything I’d been raised to believe.
“I think it’s a waste of time,” I said. “We know spirit has to be involved, and I have no connection to that.”
“I do think it would be helpful,” she said. “Please.”
Helpful? From her point of view, yes. She wanted to rule out every possibility. But my blood had nothing to do with Strigoi conversions. It couldn’t.
“I… I’d rather not.” A tame response, considering the emotions churning inside me. My heart was starting to race, and the walls were still closing in on me. My anxiety increased as I was visited by an old feeling, the awful realization that I was outnumbered here at Clarence’s. That it was me and a roomful of vampires and dhampirs. Unnatural creatures. Unnatural creatures who wanted my blood…
Dimitri studied me curiously. “It won’t hurt, if that’s what you’re afraid of. We don’t need any more than what a doctor would take.”
I shook my head adamantly. “No.”
“Both Sonya and I have training in this sort of thing,” he added, trying to reassure me. “You don’t have to worry about—”
“She said no, okay?”
All the eyes that had been on me suddenly jerked toward Adrian. He leaned forward, fixing his gaze on Sonya and Dimitri, and I saw something in those pretty eyes I’d never seen before: anger. They were like emerald fire.
“How many times does she have to refuse?” Adrian demanded. “If she doesn’t want to, then that’s all there is to it. This has nothing to do with her. This is our science project. She’s here to protect Jill and has plenty to do there. So stop harassing her already!”
“‘Harassing’ is kind of a strong word,” Dimitri said, calm in the face of Adrian’s outburst.
“Not when you keep pushing someone who wants to be left alone,” countered Adrian. He shot me a concerned look before fixing his anger back on Sonya and Dimitri. “Stop ganging up on her.”
Sonya glanced uncertainly between us. She looked legitimately hurt. As astute as she was, I don’t think she’d realized how much this bothered me. “Adrian… Sydney… we aren’t trying to upset anyone. We just really want to get to the bottom of this. I thought all of you did too. Sydney’s always been so supportive.”
“It doesn’t matter,” growled Adrian. “Take Eddie’s blood. Take Belikov’s blood. Take your own for all I care. But if she doesn’t want to give hers, then that’s all there is to it. She said no. This conversation is done.” Some distant part of me noticed that this was the first time I’d ever seen Adrian stand up to Dimitri. Usually, Adrian simply tried to ignore the other man—and hoped to be ignored in return.
“But—” began Sonya.
“Let it go,” said Dimitri. His expression was always difficult to read, but there was a gentleness in his voice. “Adrian’s right.”
Unsurprisingly, the room was a little tense after that.
There were a few halting attempts at small talk that I hardly noticed. My heart was still in overtime, my breath still coming fast. I worked hard to calm down, reassuring myself that the conversation was done, that Sonya and Dimitri weren’t going to interrogate me or forcibly drain my blood. I dared a peek at Adrian. He no longer looked angry, but there was still a fierceness there. It was almost… protective. A strange, warm feeling swirled in my chest, and for a brief moment, when I looked at him, I saw… safety. That wasn’t usually the first sentiment I had around him. I shot him what I hoped was a grateful look. He gave me a small nod in return.
He knows, I realized. He knows how I feel about vampires. Of course, everyone knew. Alchemists made no secret about how we believed most vampires and dhampirs were dark creatures who had no business interacting with humans. Because I was with them so often, however, I didn’t think my cohort here in Palm Springs really understood how deeply that belief ran. They understood it in theory but didn’t really feel it. They had no reason to since they hardly ever saw any evidence of it in me.
But Adrian understood. I didn’t know how, but he
did. I thought back on the handful of times I’d freaked out around them since being in Palm Springs. Once had been at a mini-golf course when Jill had used her water magic. Another time had been with the Strigoi and Lee, when Adrian had offered to heal me with his magic. Those were small lapses of control for me, ones none of the others had even noticed. Adrian had.
How was it that Adrian Ivashkov, who never seemed to take anything seriously, was the only one among these “responsible” people who had paid attention to such small details? How was he the only one to really understand the magnitude of what I was feeling?
When the time came to leave, I drove Adrian home along with the rest of us Amberwood students. More silence persisted in the car. Once Adrian had been dropped off, Eddie relaxed and shook his head.
“Man. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Adrian so mad. Actually, I’ve never seen Adrian mad at all.”
“He wasn’t that mad,” I said evasively, eyes on the road.
“He seemed pretty mad to me,” said Angeline. “I thought he was going to jump up and attack Dimitri.”
Eddie scoffed. “I don’t think it was going to quite reach that point.”
“I dunno,” she mused. “I think he was ready to take on anyone who messed with you, Sydney.”
I continued staring ahead, refusing to look at any of them. The whole encounter had left me feeling confused. Why had Adrian protected me? “I offered to do him a favor next weekend,” I said. “I think he feels like he owes me.”
Jill, sitting beside me in the passenger seat, had been quiet thus far. With the bond, she might know the answer. “No,” she said, a puzzled note in her voice. “He would have done it for you regardless.”
CHAPTER 7
I SPENT MOST OF THE NEXT DAY wrestling with my refusal to help Sonya, ruminating over the decision as I went from class to class. There was a part of me that felt bad about not giving blood for the experiments. After all, I knew what they were doing was useful. If there was a way to protect Moroi from becoming Strigoi, then that could theoretically be applied to humans too. That could revolutionize the way the Alchemists operated. People like that creepy guy Liam being held at the bunker would no longer be a threat. He could be “sterilized” and released, with no fear of him falling prey to the corruption of Strigoi. I knew also that Sonya and the others were running into walls with their research. They couldn’t find any reason for what had made Lee impervious to turning Strigoi.
At the same time, despite the worthiness of the cause, I still felt staunchly opposed to giving up my own blood. I really was afraid that doing so would subject me to more and more experiments. And I just couldn’t face that. There was nothing special about me. I hadn’t undergone a massive transformation via spirit. Lee and I hadn’t had anything in common. I was the same as any other human, any other Alchemist. I just apparently had bad tasting blood, which was fine by me.
“Tell me about the charm spell,” Ms. Terwilliger said one afternoon. It was a few days after Clarence’s, and I was still mulling over those events even while ostensibly doing work in her independent study.
I looked up from the book in front of me. “Which variant? The charisma one or the meta one?”
She was sitting at her desk and smiled at me. “For someone so against all of this, you certainly learn well. The meta one.”
That had been a recent spell I’d had to learn. It was fresh in my mind, but I made sure to sigh heavily and let her know in a passive aggressive way how inconvenient this was for me. “It allows the caster to have short-term control of someone. The caster has to create a physical amulet that he or she wears…” I frowned as I considered that part of the spell. “And then recite a short incantation on the person being controlled.”
Ms. Terwilliger pushed her glasses up her nose. “Why the hesitation?”
She noticed every slip. I didn’t want to engage in this, but she was my teacher, and this was part of my assignment so long as I was stuck in this miserable session. “It doesn’t make sense. Well, none of it makes sense, of course. But logically, I’d think you need something tangible to use on the vict—subject. Maybe they’d have to wear an amulet. Or drink something. It’s hard for me to believe the caster is the only one who needs enhancement. I feel like they would need to connect with the subject.”
“You touched on the key word,” she said. “‘Enhancement.’ The amulet enhances the spell caster’s will, as does the incantation. If that’s been done correctly—and the caster is advanced and strong enough—that’ll push the power of command on to the subject. Perhaps it doesn’t seem tangible, but the mind is a powerful tool.”
“Power of command,” I muttered. Without thinking about it, I made the Alchemist sign against evil. “That doesn’t seem right.”
“Is it any different from the kind of compulsion your vampire friends do?”
I froze. Ms. Terwilliger had long since admitted to knowing about the world of Moroi and Strigoi, but it was still a topic I avoided with her. My tattoo’s magic wouldn’t stop me from discussing the vampire world with those who knew about it, but I didn’t want to accidentally reveal any details about my specific mission with Jill. Nonetheless, her words were startling. This spell was very much like compulsion, very much like what I’d seen Sonya do to soothe Clarence. Vampires could simply wield it unaided. This spell required a physical component, but Ms. Terwilliger had told me that was normal for humans. She said magic was inborn for Moroi but that we had to wrest it from the world. To me, that just seemed like more reason why humans had no business dabbling in such affairs.
“What they do isn’t right either,” I said, in a rare acknowledgment of the Moroi with her. I didn’t like that the abilities I found so twisted and wrong were allegedly within human reach too. “No one should have that kind of power over another.”
Her lips quirked. “You’re very haughty about something you have no experience with.”
“You don’t always need experience. I’ve never killed anyone, but I know murder is wrong.”
“Don’t discount these spells. They could be a useful defense,” she said with a shrug. “Perhaps it depends on who’s using it—much like a gun or other weapon.”
I grimaced. “I don’t really like guns either.”
“Then you may find magical means to be a better option.” She made a small, graceful motion with her hands, and a clay pot on the windowsill suddenly exploded. Sharp fragments fell to the floor. I jumped out of my desk and backed up a few feet. Was that something she’d been able to do this whole time? It had seemed effortless. What kind of damage could she do if she really tried? She smiled. “See? Very efficient.”
Efficient and simple, as easy as a vampire wielding elemental magic with a thought. After all the painstaking spells I’d seen in these books, I was stunned to see such “easy” magic. It kicked what Ms. Terwilliger had been advocating up to a whole new—and dangerous—level. My whole body tensed as I waited for some other horrific act, but judging from the serene look on her face, that was the only show of power she had in mind—for now. Feeling a little foolish at my reaction, I sat back down.
I took a deep breath and chose my words carefully, keeping my anger—and fear—pushed down. It wouldn’t do to have an outburst in front of a teacher. “Ma’am, why do you keep doing this?”
Ms. Terwilliger tilted her head like a bird. “Doing what, dear?”
“This.” I jabbed the book in front of me. “Why do you keep making me work on this against my will? I hate this, and you know it. I don’t want anything to do with it! Why do you want me to learn it at all? What do you get out of it? Is there some witch club where you get a finder’s fee if you bring in a new recruit?”
That quirky smile of hers returned. “We prefer the term coven, not witch club. Though that does have a nice ring. But, to answer your question, I don’t get anything out of it—at least, not in the way you’re thinking. My coven can always use strong members, and you have the potential for greatness. It’s bigger
than that, however. Your perennial argument is that it’s wrong for humans to have this kind of power, right?”
“Right,” I said through gritted teeth. I’d made that argument a million times.
“Well, that’s absolutely true—for some humans. You worry this power will be abused? You’re right. It happens all the time, which is why we need good, moral people who can counter those who would use the magic for selfish and nefarious reasons.”
The bell rang, freeing me. I stood up and gathered my things together. “Sorry, Ms. Terwilliger. I’m flattered that you think I’m such an upstanding person, but I’m already caught up in one epic battle of good versus evil. I don’t need another.”
I left our session feeling both troubled and angry and hoped the next two months of this semester would speed by. If this Alchemist mission continued into next year, then creative writing or some other elective would become a very viable choice for my schedule. It was a shame too because I’d really loved Ms. Terwilliger when I first met her. She was brilliant and knew her subject area—history, not magic—and had encouraged me in that. If she’d shown the same enthusiasm for teaching me history as she did magic, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess.
My dinners were usually spent with Julia and Kristin or “the family.” Tonight was a family night. I found Eddie and Angeline already at a table when I entered East’s cafeteria, and as usual, he seemed grateful for my presence.
“Well, why not?” Angeline was saying as I sat down with my tray. It was Chinese food night, and she held chopsticks, which seemed like a bad idea. I’d tried to teach her how to use them once, with no luck. She’d gotten angry and stabbed an eggroll so hard that the sticks had broken.
“I just… well, it’s not my thing,” Eddie said, clearly groping for an answer to whatever her question was about. “I’m not going at all. With anyone.”
“Jill will be there with Micah,” pointed out Angeline slyly. “Won’t you need to come keep an eye on her since it’s not at the school?”
The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines Novel Page 10