“Can you talk to him?” I asked. “I don’t think Jill has any strong feelings. She’s got too many other things going on. She probably knows better anyway . . . but it’d still be best if you could discourage him. We can stop this before she gets involved.”
“What do you expect me to say?” Eddie asked. He sounded at a loss, which struck me as funny, considering he’d been ready to go make all sorts of demands to Miss Carson on Jill’s behalf.
“I don’t know. Play the big brother card. Act protective. Say she’s too young.”
I expected Eddie to agree, but he once more averted his eyes. “I don’t know if we should say anything.”
“What? Are you insane? Do you think it’s okay to—”
“No, no.” He sighed. “I’m not advocating it. But look at it this way. Jill’s stuck in a school full of humans. It’s not fair that she be banned from hanging out with any guys.”
“I think Micah wants to do more than hang out.”
“Well, why shouldn’t she get to go on a date now and then? Or go to a dance? She should get to do all the normal things a girl her age does. She’s already had her life radically changed. We shouldn’t make it any harder.”
I eyed him in disbelief, trying to figure out why he was so laid back about this. Admittedly, he didn’t face the same consequences I did. If my superiors found out I was “encouraging” human and vampire dating, it’d be more evidence against me and my alleged bias. After all, my reputation wasn’t yet restored with the Alchemists. Still, I knew Eddie’s people didn’t like the idea of dating, either. So what was the problem? A strange answer suddenly came to me. “I feel like you just don’t want to confront Micah.”
Eddie looked right at me. “It’s complicated,” he said. Something in his face told me I’d hit the mark. “Why don’t you talk to Jill? She knows the rules. She’ll understand that she can be with him without getting serious.”
“I think it’s a bad idea,” I said, still unable to believe he was taking this stance. “We’re creating a gray area here that’s eventually going to cause confusion. We should keep it black and white and ban her from dating while she’s here.”
That wry smile returned. “Everything’s black and white with you Alchemists, isn’t it? Do you think you can really stop her from doing anything? You should know better. Even your childhood couldn’t have been that abnormal.”
With that slap in the face, Eddie stalked off, leaving me aghast. What had just happened? How could Eddie—who was so adamant about doing the right thing for Jill—be okay with her casually dating Micah? There was something weird going on here, something connected to Micah, though I couldn’t figure out what. Well, I refused to let this matter go. It was too important. I’d talk to Jill and make sure she knew right from wrong. If necessary, I’d also talk to Micah—though I still felt that conversation would be better coming from Eddie.
And, I realized, thinking of how I had to go hunt down a doctor’s note, there was one more source I could appeal to, one that had a lot of influence over Jill.
Adrian.
Looked like I’d be paying him another visit.
CHAPTER 9
CONSIDERING I WAS ONLY SUPPOSED to visit Clarence’s twice a week for feedings, I was kind of amazed that I seemed to be here practically every day. Not only that, this was my first time visiting the estate alone. Before, I’d been with Keith or Jill and had a very well-defined goal. Now, I was on my own. I hadn’t realized how much that would freak me out until I was approaching the house, which became even more looming and dark than usual.
There’s nothing to be afraid of, I told myself. You’ve been with a vampire and dhampir all week. You should be used to it. Besides, really, the scariest thing about this place was the old house itself. Clarence and Lee weren’t all that intimidating, and Adrian . . . well, Adrian was pretty much the least scary vampire I’d ever met. He was too bratty for me to feel any real fear, and actually . . . as much as I hated to admit it, I kind of looked forward to seeing him. It made no sense, but something about his infuriating nature made me forget about my other worries. Weirdly, I felt like I could relax around him.
Dorothy escorted me in, and I expected to be taken to the sitting room again. Instead, the housekeeper led me through a few twists and turns of the dark halls, finally landing in a billiards room that looked like it could have been straight out of Clue. More dark wood lined the room, and stained glass windows let in filtered sunlight. Most of the room’s illumination came from a hanging light centered over a rich green pool table. Adrian was lining up a shot as I shut the door behind me.
“Oh,” he said, knocking a red ball into a hole. “It’s you.”
“You were expecting someone else?” I asked. “Am I interrupting your social calendar?” I made a big show of glancing around the empty room. “I don’t want to keep you from the mob of fans beating down your door.”
“Hey, a guy can hope. I mean, it’s not impossible that a car full of scantily clad sorority girls might break down outside and need my help.”
“That’s true,” I said. “Maybe I can put a sign out front that says, ‘ATTENTION ALL GIRLS: FREE HELP HERE.’”
“‘ATTENTION ALL HOT GIRLS,’” he corrected, straightening up.
“Right,” I said, trying not to roll my eyes. “That’s an important distinction.”
He pointed at me with the pool stick. “Speaking of hot, I like that uniform.”
This time, I did roll my eyes. After Adrian had teased me last time about my uniform looking like my normal clothes, I’d made sure to change out of it before coming today. Now I wore dark jeans and a black-and-white printed blouse with a ruffled collar. I should have known the outfit change wouldn’t save me from his snark.
“Are you the only one here?” I asked, noting his solo game.
“Nah. Clarence is around doing . . . I don’t know. Old man stuff. And I think Lee’s fixing that lock before he heads to LA. It’s kind of funny. He seems upset that he needs to use tools. He keeps thinking the strength of his own hands should be more than enough.”
I couldn’t help a smile. “I don’t suppose you offered to help?”
“Sage,” Adrian declared. “These hands don’t do manual labor.” He knocked another ball into a hole. “You want to play?”
“What? With you?”
“No, with Clarence.” He sighed at my dumbfounded look. “Yes, of course with me.”
“No. I need to talk to you about Jill.”
He was silent for a few moments and then returned to the game as though nothing had happened. “She wasn’t sick today.” He said that with certainty, though there was a funny, bitter tone to his words.
“No. Well, not in the same way. She got sick out in the sun during PE. I’m going to see Keith after this to see if we can get a medical excuse.” I’d actually tried calling him earlier, with no luck. “But that’s not why I’m here. There’s a guy who likes Jill—a human guy.”
“Have Castile rough him up.”
I leaned back against the wall and sighed. “That’s the thing. I asked him to. Well, not rough him up, exactly. It’s Eddie’s roommate. I asked Eddie to tell him to back off and make up some reason for staying away from Jill—like that she’s too young.” Fearing Adrian would be as lax as Eddie in this, I asked, “You understand why it’s important, right? No Moroi and human dating?”
He was watching the table, not me. “Yup, I’m with you there, Sage. But I still don’t see the problem.”
“Eddie won’t do it. He says he doesn’t think Jill should be denied the chance to date and go to dances. That it’s okay if she and Micah hang out, so long as it doesn’t get serious.”
Adrian was good at hiding his feelings, but this looked like it’d caught him by surprise. He straightened up and spun the base of the pool stick on the floor as he thought. “That is weird. I mean, I get the logic, and there’s something to it. She shouldn’t be forced into isolation while she’s here. I’m just surprised
Castile came up with it.”
“Yeah, but that’s a hard concept to live by. Where do you draw the ‘casual’ line? Honestly, I get this feeling Eddie just didn’t want to confront Micah—the roommate. Which is crazy, because Eddie doesn’t seem like the type to be afraid of anything. What is there about Micah that would make Eddie so uneasy?”
“Is Micah some big, hulking guy?”
“No,” I said. “He’s built, I guess. Good at sports. Really friendly and easygoing—not the type you’d have to be afraid would turn on you if you warned him away from your sister.”
“Then you can talk to him. Or just talk to Jailbait and explain things to her.” Adrian seemed satisfied he’d solved the matter and knocked in the last ball.
“That was my plan. I just wanted to make sure you’d back me. Jill listens to you, and I thought it’d be easier if she knew you agreed with me. Not that I even know how she feels. For all I know, this is all overkill.”
“Can’t hurt to be too careful with her,” said Adrian. He stared off, lost in his own thoughts. “And I’ll let her know how I feel about it.”
“Thank you,” I said, kind of surprised at how easy this had been.
His green eyes danced mischievously. “Now will you play a round with me?”
“I don’t really—”
The door opened, and Lee walked in, dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt. He was carrying a screwdriver. “Hey, Sydney. I thought I saw your car out there.” He glanced around. “Is, uh, Jill with you?”
“Not today,” I said. New insight struck me as I recalled that Lee attended school in Los Angeles. “Lee, have you ever dated a human girl at your school?”
Adrian arched an eyebrow. “Are you asking him out, Sage?”
I scowled. “No!”
Lee turned thoughtful. “No, not really. I have some human friends, and we go out as a group and hang out . . . but I’ve never done more than that. LA’s a big place, though. There are Moroi girls around, if you know where to look.”
Adrian perked up. “Oh?”
My hope that Lee might tell Jill he too had to avoid dating faded. “Well, that would make your dating situation much easier than Jill’s.”
“What do you mean?” asked Lee.
I recapped everything to him about Micah and Eddie. Lee nodded along thoughtfully.
“That is hard,” he admitted.
“Can we go back to the part about Moroi girls hanging out in LA?” asked Adrian hopefully. “Can you direct me to some of the . . . oh, let’s say, more open-minded ones?”
Lee’s attention was on me, however. His easy smile grew uncertain, and he glanced at his feet. “This might seem kind of weird . . . but I mean, I wouldn’t mind asking Jill out.”
Adrian was on that before I could even think of a response. “What, do you mean like on a date? You son of a bitch! She’s only fifteen.” You never would’ve guessed he’d been talking about easy Moroi girls only moments before.
“Adrian,” I said. “I’m guessing Lee’s definition of a date is a little different than yours.”
“Sorry, Sage. You’ve got to trust me when it comes to dating definitions. Last I checked, you aren’t an expert in social matters. I mean, when was the last time you were even on a date?” It was just another of the witty barbs he tossed around so easily, but it stung a little. Was my lack of social experience that obvious?
“But,” I added, ignoring Adrian’s question, “there is an age difference.” I honestly had no idea how old Lee was. His being in college gave me some clue, but Clarence seemed awfully old. Having a child late in life wasn’t that weird, though, for humans or Moroi.
“There is,” said Lee. “I’m nineteen. Not a huge gap—but big enough. I shouldn’t have said anything.” He looked embarrassed, and I felt both sorry for him and confused for myself. Matchmaking wasn’t in the Alchemist handbook.
“Why would you want to ask her out?” I asked. “I mean, she’s great. But are you just doing this to distract her from Micah and give her a safe dating alternative? Or do you, um, like her?”
“Of course he likes her,” said Adrian, quick to defend Jill’s honor.
I had a feeling that there was really no good way for Lee to answer at this point. If he expressed interest in her, Adrian’s bizarre chivalric instincts were going to kick in. If Lee wasn’t interested, Adrian would no doubt demand to know why Lee didn’t want to marry her then and there. It was one of those fascinating—but weird—quirks of Adrian’s personality.
“I like her,” said Lee bluntly. “I’ve only talked to her a couple of times, but . . . well, I’d really like to get to know her better.”
Adrian scoffed, and I shot him a glare. “Once again,” I said. “I think you guys have different definitions for the same words.”
“Not true,” said Adrian. “All guys mean the same thing when they want to ‘get to know a girl better.’ You’re a well-bred young lady, so I understand why you’d be too innocent to understand. Good thing you’ve got me here to interpret.”
I turned back to Lee, not even bothering to respond to Adrian. “I think it’s fine if you go out with her.”
“Assuming she’d even be interested,” said Lee, looking uncertain.
I remembered her smile when he’d stopped to talk to her yesterday. That had seemed pretty promising. But then, so had her enthusiasm over Micah. “I bet she would.”
“So you’re just going to let her go off alone?” asked Adrian, giving me a look that told me not to question him. This time, his concern was legitimate. I shared it. Jill was in Palm Springs to be safe. She was enrolled at Amberwood because it was also safe. Suddenly going out with a guy we hardly knew would not meet either Alchemist or guardian protocols for safety.
“Well, she can’t even leave campus,” I said, thinking aloud. “Not without me.”
“Whoa,” said Adrian, “if you get to come along as a chaperone, so do I.”
“If we both do, then Eddie will want to as well,” I pointed out. “Doesn’t sound like much of a date.”
“So?” Adrian’s brief moment of seriousness and concern had vanished in the face of what he saw as social fun. How could anyone’s mood flip so quickly? “Think of it as less of a date than a faux-family outing. One that will entertain me while protecting her virtue.”
I put my hands on my hips and turned toward him. This seemed to amuse him more. “Adrian, we’re focusing on Jill here. This isn’t about your personal entertainment.”
“Not true,” he said, green eyes sparkling. “Everything’s about my personal entertainment. The world is my stage. Keep it up—you’re becoming a star performer in the show.”
Lee glanced between us with a comically helpless look. “Do you guys want to be alone?”
I flushed. “Sorry.” Adrian made no apologies, of course.
“Look,” said Lee, who kind of seemed like he was beginning to regret bringing this up at all. “I like her. If it means bringing your whole group so I can be with her, then that’s fine.”
“Maybe it’s better this way,” I mused. “Maybe if we do more things as a group—aside from her feedings—she won’t be in danger of wanting to go out with a human guy.” Who we didn’t even know for sure that she was interested in. We didn’t even know if she was interested in Lee either. We were being awfully heavy-handed with her love life, I realized.
“This is kind of what I wanted before,” Adrian said to me. “Just more of a social life.”
I thought back to yesterday’s conversation, in which he’d demanded I find him lodging. “That’s not quite what you asked for.”
“If you want to get out more,” said Lee, “you should come back to LA with me tonight. I’ll be back here after class tomorrow anyway, so it’d just be a quick trip.”
Adrian brightened so much that I wondered if Lee had suggested it to try to smooth over any tension remaining about his interest in Jill. “Will you introduce me to those girls?” asked Adrian.
“
Unbelievable,” I said. Adrian’s double standard was ridiculous.
I didn’t notice the door opening until Keith was completely in the room. I was never exactly happy to see him, but it was good luck that he was suddenly here, right when I needed to talk to him about Jill and her problems with PE. My best plan had been to show up at his apartment and hope to catch him there. He’d saved me the trouble.
Keith looked at all three of us—but he didn’t share our smiles. No winks or pretty boy charm from him today. “I saw your car out there, Sydney,” he said sternly, turning to me. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to talk to Adrian,” I said. “Did you get my message? I tried calling earlier.”
“I’ve been busy,” he said crisply. His expression was hard, his tone chilling the room. Adrian and Lee had lost their smiles, and both now looked confused as they tried to figure out why Keith was so annoyed. I shared their curiosity. “Let’s talk. In private.”
I suddenly felt like a naughty child without knowing why. “Sure,” I said. “I . . . I was just leaving anyway.” I moved to join Keith at the door.
“Wait,” said Lee. “What about—” Adrian nudged him and shook his head, murmuring something I couldn’t hear. Lee stayed quiet.
“See you around,” said Adrian cheerfully. “Don’t worry—I’ll remember what we talked about.”
“Thanks,” I said. “See you guys later.”
Keith left without a word, and I followed him out of the house and into the late-afternoon heat. The temperature had gone down since the ill-fated PE class but not by much. Keith trudged through the gravel driveway, coming to a halt beside Latte. His car was parked nearby.
“That was rude,” I told him. “You didn’t even say goodbye to them.”
“Sorry if I don’t bring out my best manners for vampires,” snapped Keith. “I’m not as close to them as you are.”
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