The Indigo Spell b-3

by Richelle Mead

  I bit off my words and took the necklace from him. The cross barely weighed anything. Studying it more closely, I could see a tiny pattern of silver flowers painted on its surface. “The vendor didn’t do that. That’s your handiwork.”

  “Well . . . I know you’re into simple stuff, but I’ve always got to have some embellishment.”

  I ran my finger over the cross’s surface. “Why’d you choose morning glories?”

  “Because I’m not the biggest fan of lilies.”

  I smiled at that.

  When I returned to my dorm room, I laid the necklace out on my dresser. I gave it one last fond look and then tried to decide how best to spend the rest of my day. Our trip to Wolfe actually hadn’t taken that long, so I had plenty of time to catch dinner and make sure I was up to date on my homework. I actually ate with Kristin and Julia for a change, which was kind of a nice break from the drama of my other friends. Of course, most of the meal consisted of Julia gushing about “Dave.” By the end, both she and Kristin were demanding to know when I’d bring him by again.

  As the evening pushed on, I began to prepare for my meeting with Ms. Terwilliger. I wasn’t sure what kind of magic we’d be practicing outdoors but figured I should be ready for anything. I packed a wide variety of items from my kit and even had the foresight to bring a granola bar for post-magic fuel. Once everything was in order, I headed back downstairs. I was nearly out the dorm door when Mrs. Weathers called out to me.

  “Sydney?”

  I paused to glance back. “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Where are you going? It’s nearly curfew.”

  Frowning, I walked over to her desk. “I’m doing an assignment for Ms. Terwilliger.”

  Mrs. Weathers looked troubled. “Yes, I know you do that a lot for her . . . but I haven’t received authorization from her to let you out after hours today.” Her expression turned apologetic. “I’m sure this is all on the up-and-up, but, well, rules are rules.”

  “Of course,” I said. “But she said she’d let you know. Are you sure you didn’t get anything? A note? A phone call?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m sorry.”

  “I understand,” I murmured, though I wasn’t sure I did. Despite her perpetually scattered nature, Ms. Terwilliger was usually good about this sort of thing. Mrs. Weathers assured me she’d let me go if Ms. Terwilliger gave the okay by phone, so I returned to my room and attempted to call her. I went straight to voice mail, and my text went unanswered. Had something happened to her? Had that magical confrontation I’d been dreading finally gone down?

  I kicked around my dorm room for the next hour or so, letting all my worries eat at me. Veronica. Marcus. St. Louis. Ms. Terwilliger. The dream. Over and over, I kept imagining the worst outcome for all of them. Just when I thought I’d go crazy, Ms. Terwilliger finally returned my call.

  “Why didn’t you show up?” she asked as soon as I answered. I felt relieved. She’d gone to the park. That explained the lack of contact since there was no signal out there.

  “I tried! Mrs. Weathers wouldn’t let me out. You forgot to give me permission.”

  “I most certainly didn’t. . . .” Her words trailed off uncertainly. “That is, I thought I did. . . .”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “You’ve had a lot on your mind.”

  “It’s not okay.” She sounded angry, but it was at herself, not me. “I need to be on top of this.”

  “Well, you can call Mrs. Weathers now,” I said.

  “Too late. I’m already back home. We’ll have to attempt this again another time.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I tried.”

  Ms. Terwilliger sighed. “I know you did. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I’m letting all of this wear me down, and now I’m getting sloppy. I’ve already taken too many risks at your expense, and it’s put Veronica on your trail. I can’t let her get any farther.”

  A chill ran through me as I thought of those comatose girls—and the possibility of me joining them. I’d been able to stay cool and collected while investigating, but last night’s dream had driven home the dangers I faced. That image of the girl in the newspaper hovered in my mind as I held the phone and paced my room. I stopped in front of a mirror and tried to picture myself like that, aged before my time. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away. I couldn’t let that happen to me. I just couldn’t, and I needed Ms. Terwilliger if I was going to stay safe. Maybe I was a prodigy, but I was nowhere near being able to take on someone like her sister.

  “Get some rest, ma’am,” I said at last. “You sound like you need it.”

  “I’ll try. And you be careful, Miss Melbourne.”

  “I will.”

  Being careful was the only thing I could do on my own for now. I just hoped it would be enough.

  When we got off the phone, I didn’t want to sleep again. I was afraid to, and it wasn’t just because of the sheer terror I’d felt in last night’s dream. Ms. Terwilliger had explained there was a type of searching spell that sought people in their sleep, and I worried that if Veronica reached out to me again, she might get a fix on my location. The problem was that after last night’s sketchy sleep, I was now even more exhausted. My usual coffee and distraction tricks failed, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

  I don’t know how much time passed before I dreamed. One moment I was lost in the oblivion of sleep. The next, I found myself standing in the room that had hosted Sonya and Mikhail’s reception. It looked exactly the same: flowers everywhere, tables covered in white linen and crystal glasses . . . The only difference was that the room was empty and silent. It was eerie, seeing all that richness and glamour with no one to enjoy it. I could’ve been in a ghost town. I looked down and saw that I wore the same dress from that evening as well.

  “I could’ve made it red, you know. That’s a better color for you—not that blue looks bad on you.”

  Adrian strode toward me, dressed in the same dark blue suit. Understanding hit me. I was in a spirit dream. It was another of that element’s incredible feats, the ability for a spirit user to intrude on someone’s dreams. No—not intrude. The user was actually able to create the dream itself, controlling every detail.

  “It’s been a long time since you pulled me into one of these,” I said.

  “And look at the progress you’ve made. Last time you were kicking and screaming.” He held out a hand. “Want to dance?”

  “No music,” I said, not that I had any intention of dancing. He had a point about my reaction, though. I hadn’t exactly been kicking and screaming, but I had kind of freaked out. I’d been in full possession of all my fears about vampires and magic, and being surrounded in a world completely constructed of that magic had left me frightened and unhinged. And now? Now I had apparently become so comfortable that my biggest concern was that he’d put me in this dress. I gestured to it.

  “Can you change me out of this?”

  “You can change yourself out of it,” he said. “I’m letting go of the control. Just picture yourself the way you are in reality.”

  I did exactly that, and a moment later, I wore jeans and a pale blue knit top. This obviously disappointed him. “That’s what you sleep in?”

  “No.” I laughed. “I was trying not to sleep at all. It didn’t work. Why’d you bring me here?”

  He strolled around and picked up one of the crystal goblets, nodding in approval as though he were some sort of glassmaking expert. “Exactly that reason. I saw how much that dream bothered you. I figured if I pulled you into one of these, it’d keep you from one of Veronica’s.”

  I’d never thought of that. Vampire magic was certainly preferable to hers. Looking around, I gained a new appreciation for the room. It became a sanctuary, a place where she couldn’t reach me. At least, I hoped not. We really didn’t know how her magic would work against Adrian’s. For all I knew, she might come walking through the door, carrying Sonya’s bouquet.

  “Thank you,” I said. I sat down
at one of the tables. “That was nice of you.” It was another one of those incredible moments when Adrian had had the insight to guess my thoughts—or in this case, my fears.

  “Well, it was also selfish. I wanted to see you in the dress.” He reconsidered. “Actually, I wanted to see you in that red Halloween dress again, but I figured that would be pushing my luck.”

  I looked away as an image of that dress returned to me. Lia DiStefano had created the costume for me. She’d loosely based it on an ancient Greek dress and ended up with a gauzy confection of red and gold. That was when Adrian had said I was the most beautiful creature walking the earth. It had happened before he expressed his feelings for me, but even then, his words had undone me. I thought about what he was doing for me now and decided to give him a small compensation. I focused again on my clothes, and the blue dress returned.

  “Better?” I asked.

  His face lit up in a way that made me smile in return. “Yes.”

  Hoping I wasn’t setting myself up for some suggestive answer, I asked, “So what are we going to do?”

  “You sure you don’t want to dance? I can make some music.” My silence spoke for me. “Fine, fine. I don’t know. We could play a game. Monopoly? Life? Battleship? Twister? Whatever we do, I am not playing Scrabble with you.”

  We warmed up with Battleship—I won—and then moved on to Monopoly. That took a little work to set up because Adrian could only create things that he could imagine. He couldn’t remember all the streets and cards, so we made our best attempt to re-create them. Neither of us could remember one of the yellow streets, so he named it Jet Way.

  We proved surprisingly well matched, and I became engrossed in the game. The power shifted back and forth between us. Just when one of us seemed to have all the control, the other would seize it back. I had no doubts about my ability to win—until I lost. I sat there, dumbstruck, staring at the board.

  “Have you ever lost a game before?” he asked.

  “I . . . yes, of course . . . I just didn’t think . . .”

  “That I could beat you?”

  “No, I just . . . it doesn’t happen very often.” I looked up at him and shook my head. “Congratulations.”

  He leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I think beating you just improved your opinion of me more than anything else I’ve ever done.”

  “I’ve always had a high opinion of you.” I stretched out, surprised to feel kinks in my body. It was strange how these dreams could have such a realistic physical component. “How long have we have been here?”

  “I don’t know. It’s not morning yet.” He appeared unconcerned. “What do you want to play next?”

  “We shouldn’t play anything,” I said. I stood up. “It’s been hours. I’m asleep, but you aren’t. You can’t stay up all night.”

  “I’m a vampire, Sage. A creature of the night, remember?”

  “One who’s on a human schedule,” I chastised.

  He still didn’t seem worried. “Only one class tomorrow. I’ll make it up.”

  “What about the spirit?” I began to pace restlessly as more of the implications hit me. “You have to be using a lot of it. That’s not good for you.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” There was an unspoken for you at the end of his sentence.

  I returned to the table and stood in front of his chair. “You have to be careful. Between this and the Veronica hunt. . . .” I suddenly felt bad. I hadn’t thought twice about asking him to help with that. I’d forgotten the risks. “Once we’ve stopped her, you need to lay off the spirit.”

  “Don’t worry.” He grinned. “Once we’ve gotten rid of that bitch, I’ll be celebrating so much that I won’t be sober for days.”

  “Ugh. Not the healthiest way to do it. Have you ever thought about antidepressants?” I knew they helped some spirit users by blocking the magic.

  His smile vanished. “I won’t touch those things. Lissa took them and hated them. Being cut off from spirit nearly drove her crazy.”

  I crossed my arms and leaned against the table. “Yeah, but using it will drive you crazy too.”

  “No lectures tonight, Sage. It mars my stunning Monopoly victory.”

  He was far too casual for such a serious matter, but I knew him well enough to recognize when he wouldn’t yield. “Fine. Then let’s end on a high note. Send me back, and get some sleep.”

  “You sure you’ll be okay?” His concern was so intense. I didn’t think anyone had ever worried about me that much. Well, maybe Ms. Terwilliger.

  “Probably she gave up for the night.” I really didn’t know, but I couldn’t let him keep exerting himself. The thought of Veronica reaching out again terrified me . . . but the thought of Adrian endangering himself almost scared me more. He’d risked so much for me. Could I do any less? “You can check on me tomorrow night, though.”

  Adrian’s face lit up as though I’d just accepted a date. “It’s a deal, then.”

  And like that, the reception hall dissolved around me. I returned to peaceful sleep and just barely heard him say, “Sweet dreams, Sage.”

  CHAPTER 17

  ALTHOUGH OUR MAGICAL PLANS had been derailed, Ms. Terwilliger had asked me to come by her room before classes started in the morning so that we could talk strategy and future assignments. I had just enough time to swing by the cafeteria for breakfast and found Jill, Eddie, and Angeline sitting together. It felt like it had been a long time since we’d all been together in some kind of normal setting, and I welcomed this small moment of bonding. It was a refuge in the storm that had been my life recently.

  Jill was grinning about something that Eddie didn’t seem to find so funny. “He didn’t say anything about it to me,” he said.

  “Of course not.” Jill laughed. “He’s too embarrassed.”

  I sat down with my tray. “Who’s too embarrassed?” I assumed any “he” they were talking about must be Adrian, though it was hard to imagine Adrian embarrassed about anything.

  “Micah,” said Jill. “I talked him into modeling for our sewing club again. And then he got Juan and Travis to do it too. ”

  “How’d you manage that?” I asked. Jill had originally gotten involved with Lia through the school’s sewing club. Back when Jill and Micah had dated, she’d convinced him to model some very badly made clothes. He’d done it out of adoration, though I wasn’t sure he’d really enjoyed it.

  Jill leaned forward, an excited sparkle in her eyes. “Claire guilted him into it! It was hilarious. But I don’t know how he talked Juan and Travis into it. Maybe they owed him a favor.”

  “Maybe they have ulterior motives,” said Eddie. His tone surprised me until I remembered his lesson about the latest social developments around here. What was it? Claire was Micah’s new girlfriend. Juan and Travis were his friends, who liked Jill. Eddie didn’t like that they liked her. Got it. Apparently, Eddie hadn’t kept his opinions to himself because Jill rolled her eyes.

  “Will you stop worrying about that?” she asked. She was still smiling but sounded just a little annoyed. “They’re good guys. And I’m not going to do anything stupid. You don’t have to lecture me about humans and Moroi. I get it.”

  Her jade eyes flicked over to me, and her smile faltered a little. She studied me for several long, troubled moments, and I wondered what she was thinking about. Was she still hoping for some romantic resolution between Adrian and me? Was she wondering why Adrian and I kept getting into intimate situations? I kind of wanted to know that too. She finally dragged her gaze away, letting her happy mood return.

  “I’m just looking out for you,” Eddie said obstinately.

  “You look out for assassins. I can handle these guys. I’m not a child, and besides, these are the most male models we’ve ever had. It’s great. If we could score a couple more, our club could do a whole project on men’s clothing.”

  Eddie still looked way too serious for this discussion. “Maybe Eddie would volunteer,” I suggested. “I bet guardi
an posture would be great on the catwalk.”

  He blushed, which even I had to admit was adorable. If Jill had been irritated by his earlier overprotectiveness, it was no longer obvious. From her dreamy expression, you’d think Eddie blushing was the most amazing thing she’d ever witnessed. I think he was too overwhelmed at the thought of strutting down a runway to notice.

  Angeline had been completely silent so far. I glanced over at her, expecting her to have something funny to say about her boyfriend being encouraged to model. But to my surprise, she wasn’t paying attention to the conversation at all. She had a geometry book open and was furiously trying to draw some circles freehand. It killed me to watch, but after Kristin’s comment about Angeline stabbing someone with a compass, freehand might be best.

  “What do you think, Angeline?” I asked, just to see how engrossed she was. “Do you think Eddie would make a good model?”

  “Hmm?” She didn’t look up. “Oh, yeah. You should let Jill try some clothes on you.”

  Now Jill blushed. Eddie’s deepened.

  Just when I thought this meal couldn’t get any more surreal, Trey stopped by. He nudged Angeline’s chair with his toe. “Hey, McCormick.” He nodded toward her graph paper. “Time to check out your curves.”

  Rather than answering with some biting response, she looked up instantly, a big smile on her face. “I’ve been working on them all morning,” she said. “I think they’re pretty good.”

  “They look good from where I’m standing,” said Trey.

  They were actually the worst circles I’d ever seen, but I guessed Trey wanted to encourage her. I was amazed at how seriously she was treating this math grade. It seemed to me that she was putting it above everything else, even her personal life. She gathered up all her things so that she and Trey could go to the library. Eddie looked disappointed but couldn’t protest, lest it give away the truth about Angeline and him. Trey knew we weren’t all actually related, but Eddie and Angeline’s relationship was still kept secret.