“Is that how you and Mikhail are?” I asked, thinking there wasn’t much melting with Brayden and me, no matter how much I enjoyed spending time with him.
She laughed again and glanced up at the sky, painted in shades of orange and blue. “Not exactly. Every relationship is different. Everyone loves differently.” There was a long pause as she chose her next words. “That was a nice thing you chose to do for Adrian.”
“There was no choice to be made,” I countered. We crossed onto a busier street, full of brightly lit stores with water misters outside that were meant to cool off hot shoppers. I winced at what that mist was doing to my hair. “I had to help. He didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. I can’t imagine how Adrian’s put up with that his whole life. And would you believe that what worried Adrian the most was that I would think less of him?”
“Actually,” said Sonya softly, “I can very much believe that.”
The costume store was still open, thanks to extended Halloween hours, but only for ten more minutes. Sonya wandered around the aisles with no real goal, but I headed immediately for the historical section. They had exactly one Greek-style dress left, a plain white gown with a gold plastic belt. I knelt down to take a better look. Opening the package, I felt the fabric. It was cheap, probably flammable. The dress was also an XL, and I wondered if Jill had learned enough in sewing club to take it in for me. With less than a week until the dance, my options were limited.
“Really?” a voice beside me said. “Haven’t you insulted me enough without resorting to this trash?”
Standing above me was Lia DiStefano. Her curly hair was bound up with a bright red scarf, and a voluminous peasant blouse made her petite body look like it had wings. She peered down at me disapprovingly with kohl-lined eyes.
“Are you following me?” I asked, getting to my feet. “Every time I’m downtown, here you are.”
“If I were following you, I never would have let you set foot in here in the first place.” She pointed at the costume. “What is that?”
“My outfit for Halloween,” I said. “I’m going Greek.”
“It’s not even the right size.”
“I’ll get it taken in.”
She tsked. “I’m so appalled, I don’t even know where to start. You want a Greek dress? I’ll make you one. A good one. Not this monstrosity. My God. People know you know me. If you were seen in that, it’d ruin my career.”
“Yeah, because what I wear to a high school dance will really make or break you.”
“When’s your dance?” she asked.
“Saturday.”
“Easy,” she declared. She gave me a once-over and nodded in satisfaction. “Easy measurements too. Is your sister dressing just as badly?”
“Not sure,” I admitted. “She talked about making a fairy dress in sewing club. A blue one, I think.”
Lia blanched. “Even worse. I’ll make her a dress too. I’ve already got her measurements.”
I sighed. “Lia, I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. Jill absolutely cannot model for you again. It doesn’t matter how much bribery you try.”
Lia attempted an innocent look that was in no way convincing. “Who said anything about bribery? I’m doing this out of charity. It’d be a disgrace to let you two go out in anything less than the best.”
“Lia—”
“Do not buy that,” she warned, pointing at the costume. “It’s a waste. You might as well set your money on fire—although, it probably wouldn’t light as fast as that dress. I’ll let you know when your costumes are ready.” With that, she turned on her high wooden heels and walked away, leaving me staring.
“Did you get a costume?” Sonya asked me later, once the closing store forced us to leave.
“Weirdly, yes,” I said. “But not from there.”
Dimitri apparently wasn’t done with his call, since he hadn’t joined us yet. We strolled leisurely back toward the restaurant, wanting to give him more time with Rose. Other stores were closing, and the tourists were beginning to thin out. I explained the meeting with Lia. Sonya found it more amusing than I did.
“Well, don’t knock it,” she said. “If a designer wants to make you something, you’re not obligated to give her anything else. Maybe she could help me out with bridesmaid dresses.”
We crossed a less busy street and cut through a narrow alley with a brick building on one side and a tree-filled church lawn on the other. I’d admired the church on our way over, but now, in only a short time, evening had filled it with shadows and given it a foreboding look and feel. I was glad I wasn’t walking through here alone. It felt strange to be reassured by a vampire’s presence.
“Lia does make amazing things,” I admitted. “But I don’t know if we should encourage her.”
“Fair enough,” said Sonya. “Maybe one of these days, you’ll help me look for dresses. You’ve got a really good sense of—”
She suddenly spun around toward the darkened churchyard. There was a look of fear on her face, but I saw nothing alarming—at first. Seconds later, four figures in black jumped out from behind the trees. One of them threw me against the brick wall while the other three pinned Sonya to the ground. I pushed back against my captor, but a muscled arm held me tightly. In the faint light, I saw a glimmer of something I never expected to see on the streets of Palm Springs: a sword.
The dark figure poised it over Sonya’s neck. “Time to go back to Hell,” he said.
CHAPTER 11
I’M NOT A PHYSICAL PERSON. I’m decent in volleyball, and Eddie once taught me to throw a punch. But I make no claims to having the kind of training that guardians get. I certainly don’t have their reflexes. So, in this situation, unable to break free of restraint, I pretty much did the only thing I could.
I screamed.
“Help! Somebody help!”
My hope was that it would delay Sonya’s captors from decapitating her or whatever it was they planned to do. I also hoped it would, well, bring help. We’d departed from the main downtown roads but were still close enough that someone should hear me—especially since there had still been a decent number of people out earlier.
One of the attackers holding Sonya flinched, so I supposed I was partially successful. My own captor clamped a hand over my mouth and pushed me harder against the brick wall. Then, a strange thing happened. He—because he had the right build to be male, even though I couldn’t make out his face—froze. He was still holding me, but his body had gone rigid. It was almost like he was shocked or surprised. I wasn’t sure why. Surely someone screaming for help when assaulted wasn’t that weird. I didn’t think I could overpower him but still hoped I might take advantage of his stunned state. I pushed forward again, trying to get out of his grip. I only managed to move a few inches before he locked me back into place.
“We need to go!” exclaimed one of Sonya’s captors. Another guy. From what I could tell, they all were. “Someone will come.”
“This’ll only take a second,” growled the one holding the sword. “We need to rid the world of this evil.”
I watched in terror, my heart seizing in my chest. I was afraid for myself, but I was especially afraid for Sonya. I’d never seen a decapitation. I didn’t want to start now.
Half a second later, I found myself suddenly free. Someone new had joined our fray, someone who ripped my captor away and tossed him easily to the pavement. It looked painful, and the guy landed with a grunt. Even in this poor lighting, the height and coat gave my savior away. It was Dimitri.
I’d seen him fight before, but it never got old. He was captivating. He never stopped moving. Every action was graceful and lethal. He was a dancer of death. Ignoring the guy he’d just thrown, Dimitri surged toward the others. He immediately went for the guy with the sword. A swift kick from Dimitri sent the assailant flying backward. He dropped the sword and barely managed to catch hold of one of the churchyard trees.
Meanwhile, one of the men holding Sonya simply turn
ed tail and ran back toward downtown. Dimitri didn’t pursue. His attention now was on the last guy, who was foolishly attempting to fight back. This freed Sonya, however, and she wasted no time getting to her feet and scurrying over to my side. I was rarely touchy-feely with anyone—certainly not Moroi—but I clung to her without even thinking twice. She did the same, and I could feel her trembling. Once, as a Strigoi, she’d been a force to be reckoned with. As a Moroi, one who’d just had a sword at her throat, things were understandably different.
The guy facing down Dimitri actually managed a couple of good dodges. His mistake came when he attempted to hit Dimitri. It opened his guard, and like that, Dimitri punched him hard in the face. The tall guy who’d hit the tree earlier attempted an attack, but he was an idiot if he thought Dimitri was distracted. Dimitri dispatched him easily, and he landed near the guy Dimitri had just punched. The tall one struggled to his feet and looked like he wanted to attack again. His friend grabbed hold of him and tugged him away. After a moment’s struggle between them, the two finally ran off. Dimitri didn’t pursue. His attention was all on Sonya and me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, swiftly striding over to us.
I managed a weak nod, even though I was shaking uncontrollably.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Dimitri. He put a hand on each of our shoulders and began to steer us away.
“Wait,” I said, moving toward the churchyard. “We should take the sword.”
I scanned in front of me, but it was even darker than before. Dimitri found the sword right away with his superior eyesight. He tucked it under his duster, and the three of us quickly got out of there. We walked to Adrian’s apartment, since it was much closer than Clarence’s property outside of town. Even so, the brief trip seemed to take forever. I kept feeling like we could be attacked again at any moment, but Dimitri continued giving us assurances, while still pushing us at a good pace.
Adrian was surprised to see us at his door. He also looked pretty drunk, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was the security of his four walls.
“What… what’s going on?” he asked, as Dimitri urged Sonya and me inside. Adrian’s eyes looked at each of us, resting longest on me. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Dimitri gave Sonya and me a once-over, double-checking for injuries despite our protests. He reached out and gently held my chin, turning my non-tattooed cheek toward him. “A little scraped,” he said. “Not serious, but you should clean it.” I touched the spot he’d indicated and was astonished to see blood on my fingers. I didn’t even remember getting hurt but supposed it had come from the brick wall.
Sonya had no physical marks but admitted to having a pretty bad headache from where she’d hit the ground.
“What happened?” Adrian asked again.
Dimitri held up the sword he’d retrieved from the scene. “Something a little more serious than a mugging, I think.”
“I’d say so,” said Sonya, sitting on the couch. Her attitude was amazingly calm for what we’d just endured. She touched the back of her head and winced. “Particularly since they called me a creature of evil before you showed up.”
Dimitri arched an eyebrow. “They did?”
I hadn’t moved once I’d reached the living room. I simply stood there with my arms wrapped around myself, feeling numbed. Movement seemed too difficult. Thinking seemed too difficult. As Dimitri examined the sword, however, something caught my eye and made my sluggish brain slowly begin to function again.
Seeing my interest, he held the sword out to me. I took it, careful of the blade, and examined the hilt. It was covered with engravings.
“Do those mean something to you?” he asked.
My mind was still cloudy with fear and adrenaline, but I ignored it and tried to dredge up some facts. “These are old alchemy symbols,” I said. “From the Middle Ages, back when our group was just a bunch of medieval scientists trying to turn lead into gold.”
That was all the history books knew about my society. That, and we’d eventually given up on gold. The organization had later found more sophisticated compounds, including vampire blood. Interacting with vampires had eventually evolved into our current cause, as ancient Alchemists realized the terrible and dark temptations vampires represented. Our cause became a holy one. The chemistry and formulas my society had once worked on for personal gain became the tools needed to hide the existence of vampires, tools we now supplemented with technology.
I tapped the largest symbol, a circle with a dot in the center. “This is actually the symbol for gold. This other one is silver. These four triangle things are the basic elements—earth, air, water, and fire. And these… Mars and Jupiter, which tie into iron and tin. Maybe the sword’s composition?” I frowned and studied the rest of the metal. “No gold or silver actually in it, though. Their symbols can also refer to the sun and moon. Maybe these aren’t physical at all. I don’t know.”
I handed the sword back to Dimitri. Sonya took it from him, studying what I’d pointed out. “So, are you saying this is an Alchemist weapon?”
I shook my head. “Alchemists would never use something like this. Guns are easier. And the symbols are archaic. We use the periodic table now. Easier to write ‘Au’ for gold instead of drawing that sun symbol.”
“Is there any reason these would be on a weapon? Some greater symbolism or meaning?” Dimitri asked.
“Well, again, if you go back, the sun and gold were the most important to the ancient Alchemists. They revolved around this whole idea of light and clarity.” I touched my cheek. “Those things are still important in some ways—it’s why we use this gold ink. Aside from the benefits, the gold marks us as… pure. Sanctified. Part of a holy cause. But on a sword… I don’t know. If whoever did this was going off the same symbolism, then maybe the sword is sanctified.” I thought back to the attackers’ words, about returning to Hell. I grimaced. “Or maybe its owners feel it’s serving some kind of holy duty.”
“Who were these guys anyway?” asked Adrian. “Do you think Jill’s at risk?”
“They knew about vampires. But they were human,” said Dimitri.
“Even I could tell that,” I agreed. “The one was pretty tall, but he was no Moroi.” Admitting our assailants had been human was difficult—and baffling—for me. I’d always believed the Strigoi were evil. That was easy. Even Moroi couldn’t always be trusted, which was why the thought of Moroi assassins coming after Jill didn’t seem that far-fetched. But humans… the people I was supposed to be protecting? That was tough. I’d been attacked by my own kind, the so-called good guys, not the fanged fiends I’d been taught to fear. It was a jolt to my worldview.
Dimitri’s face grew even grimmer. “I’ve never heard of anything like this—mainly because most humans don’t know about Moroi. Aside from the Alchemists.”
I gave him a sharp look. “This had nothing to do with us. I told you, swords aren’t our style. Neither are attacks.”
Sonya set the sword down on the coffee table. “No one’s making accusations about anyone. I assume it’s an issue you’ll both want to bring up to your groups.” Dimitri and I nodded. “Although, I think we’re overlooking a key point here. They were treating me like a Strigoi. A sword’s not the easiest way to kill someone. There’d have to be a reason.”
“It’s the only way a human could kill a Strigoi, too,” I murmured. “Humans can’t charm a silver stake. I suppose they could set you on fire, but that’s not practical in an alley.”
Silence fell as we all mulled this over. At last, Sonya sighed. “I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere tonight, not without talking to others. Do you want me to heal that?”
It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. I touched my cheek. “No, it’ll heal fast on its own.” That was one of the side effects of the vampire blood in our lily tattoos. “I’ll go clean it before I go.”
I walked to the bathroom as confidently as I could. When I reached it and saw my reflection in the mir
ror, I lost it. The scrape wasn’t bad, not at all. Mostly, what upset me was what it represented. Sonya had had the blade to her throat, but my life had been in danger too. I had been attacked, and I’d been helpless. I wet a washcloth and tried to bring it to my face, but my hands were shaking too badly.
“Sage?”
Adrian appeared in the doorway, and I quickly tried to blink away the tears that had started to fill my eyes. “Yeah?”
“You okay?”
“Can’t you tell from my aura?”
He didn’t answer but instead took the washcloth from me before I dropped it. “Turn,” he commanded. I did, and he dabbed the scrape with it. With him standing so close to me, I could see that his eyes were bloodshot. I could also smell the alcohol on him. Nonetheless, his hand was steadier than mine. Again, he asked, “You okay?”
“I’m not the one who had a sword to my throat.”
“That’s not the question I asked. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No,” I said, looking down. “Just maybe… maybe my pride.”
“Your pride?” He paused to rinse the washcloth. “What does that have to do with anything?”
I looked up but still didn’t meet his eyes. “I can do a lot of things, Adrian. And—at the risk of sounding egotistical—I mean, well, I can do a lot of pretty awesome things that most people can’t.”
There was amusement in his voice. “Don’t I know it. You can change a tire in ten minutes while speaking Greek.”
“Five minutes,” I said. “But when my life’s on the line—when others’ lives are on the line—what good am I? I can’t fight. I was completely helpless out there. Just like when the Strigoi attacked us and Lee. I can only stand and watch and wait for people like Rose and Dimitri to save me. I… I’m like a storybook damsel in distress.”
He finished cleaning my cheek and set the washcloth down. He cupped my face in his hands. “The only thing true about what you just said was the storybook damsel part—and that’s only because you’re pretty enough to be one. Not the distress thing. Everything else you just said was ridiculous. You’re not helpless.”
The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines Novel Page 16