“Ah, yes, naturally.” He settled into his massive armchair and then glanced back toward Dimitri and Sonya. “So you’ll be able to fix the window locks?” There had apparently been some other discussion going on before they joined us.
Dimitri seemed to be trying to find a nice way to respond. He was as amazing to look at as ever, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with a long leather duster over it all. How anyone could survive wearing a coat like that in Palm Springs was beyond me, but if anyone could, I supposed it was him. Usually he only wore it inside, but sometimes, I’d see it outside too. I’d mentioned this odd wardrobe choice to Adrian a couple of weeks ago: “Isn’t Dimitri hot?” Adrian’s response hadn’t been entirely unexpected: “Well, yeah, according to most women, at least.”
Dimitri’s face was the picture of politeness as he addressed Clarence’s concerns. “I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with the ones you have,” Dimitri said. “Everything is sealed up pretty tightly.”
“So it seems,” said Clarence ominously. “But you don’t know how resourceful they are. I’m not behind the times, you know. I know there are all sorts of technologies out there that you can put in. Like lasers that tell you if someone’s breaking in.”
Dimitri arched an eyebrow. “You mean a security system?”
“Yes, exactly,” said Clarence. “That’ll keep the hunters out.”
This turn in conversation wasn’t exactly a surprise to me. Clarence’s paranoia had also increased recently—and that was saying something. He lived in constant fear of what he claimed were vampire hunters, humans who… well, hunted vampires. For the longest time, he’d claimed they were responsible for his niece’s death and that reports of her being killed by a Strigoi were incorrect. It turned out he was half-right. Her death hadn’t been the result of a Strigoi attack—it had been caused by Lee, in a desperate attempt to change back from a Moroi to a Strigoi. Clarence refused to accept that, however, and persisted in his beliefs about the hunters. My assurances that the Alchemists had no records of any groups like that existing since the Middle Ages hadn’t gone very far. Consequently, Clarence was always making people do “security checks” of his house. Since Sonya and Dimitri were actually staying with him throughout the experimentation, that tedious task often fell to them.
“I’m not really qualified to install a security system,” said Dimitri.
“Really? There’s something you can’t do?” Adrian’s voice was so soft that I could barely hear him, and he was sitting right next to me. I doubted even the others, with their superior hearing, could’ve made out his words. Why does he still let Dimitri get to him? I wondered.
“You’d have to call professionals,” Dimitri continued to Clarence. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t want a bunch of strangers coming in and out of your house.”
Clarence frowned. “That’s true. It’d be very easy for the hunters to infiltrate them.”
Dimitri was the picture of patience. “I’ll do daily checks of all the doors and windows while I’m here—just to be sure.”
“That would be wonderful,” said Clarence, some of his tension easing. “Admittedly, I’m not really the hunters’ usual type. Not dangerous enough. Not anymore.” He chuckled to himself. “Still. You never know what could happen. Best to be safe.”
Sonya gave him a gentle smile. “I’m sure everything will be fine. You have nothing to worry about.”
Clarence met her eyes, and after a few seconds, a smile slowly spread over his face as well. His rigid posture slackened. “Yes, yes. You’re right. Nothing to worry about.”
I shivered. I’d been around Moroi enough to know what had happened. Sonya had just used compulsion—only a whisper of it—to calm Clarence. Compulsion, the ability to force your will on others, was a skill all Moroi possessed to varying degrees. Spirit users were the strongest, rivaling Strigoi. Using compulsion on others was taboo among the Moroi, and there were serious consequences for those who abused it.
I was guessing Moroi authorities would overlook her soothing a nervous old man, but the small act still unsettled me. Compulsion in particular had always struck me as one of the most insidious Moroi powers. And had Sonya really needed to use it? She was already so kind and soothing. Wouldn’t that be enough for Clarence? Sometimes I wondered if they just used magic for the sake of doing so. Sometimes I wondered if it was being used around me… without me even knowing.
Clarence’s talk of vampire hunters always triggered a mix of amusement and unease around everyone. With him pacified (even if I didn’t like the means), we were all able to relax a little bit. Sonya leaned back against the loveseat, drinking some fruity drink that looked perfect on a hot day like this. From her dirty clothes and haphazard hairstyling, I was willing to bet she’d been outside—not that she still didn’t look beautiful. Most Moroi avoided this kind of intense sun, but her love of plants was so great that she’d been risking it to work on some of the ailing flowers in Clarence’s garden. Heavy sunscreen could work wonders.
“I’m not going to be around much longer,” she told us. “A few more weeks at most. I need to go back and work on some wedding plans with Mikhail.”
“When’s the big day again?” Adrian asked.
She smiled. “It’s in December.” That surprised me until she added, “There’s a huge, tropical greenhouse near the Court that we’re going to use. It’s gorgeous—not that it matters. Mikhail and I could be married anywhere. All that counts is that we’re together. Of course, if we’re able to choose, then why not go all out?”
Even I smiled at that. Leave it to Sonya to find a spot of green in the middle of a Pennsylvania winter.
“Dimitri may stay on,” she continued. “But it’d be great if we could make some kind of progress before I go. The aura tests so far have been…”
“Useless?” suggested Adrian.
“I was going to say inconclusive,” she replied.
Adrian shook his head. “So all that time we spent was wasted?”
Sonya didn’t answer and instead took another sip of her drink. I was willing to bet it was non-alcoholic—she didn’t self-medicate the way Adrian did—and that Dorothy could make me one if I wanted. Yet, I was also willing to bet it was terrible for me. Maybe I’d see if there was any Diet Coke in the kitchen.
Sonya leaned forward, an eager glint in her eye. “Dimitri and I were talking and realized there’s something obvious we’ve been missing. Actually, I should say avoiding, but not pursuing it would be a waste.”
“What’s that?” asked Adrian.
“Blood,” said Dimitri.
I winced. I didn’t like it when this topic came up. It reminded me of exactly what kind of people I was with.
“Obviously, there’s something about restored Strigoi that protects them—us,” he said. “We’ve looked for magical signs, but the answer might be more physical. And from the report I read, the Strigoi had trouble drinking L—his blood.” Dimitri had been about to say Lee, but had amended his choice out of respect for Clarence. The old man’s dazed, happy look made it hard to tell if he understood what we were discussing at all.
“They complained about it,” I agreed. “But that didn’t seem to stop them from drinking it.” Strigoi could be forcibly created if a Strigoi drained a victim’s blood and then fed Strigoi blood back to him or her. Lee had asked Strigoi to do this for him, but all draining him had achieved was death.
“We’d like to take a sample of Dimitri’s blood and then compare it to yours, Eddie,” said Sonya. “Blood can hold all sorts of magical properties, which might show us how to fight Strigoi.”
I kept my face as blank as possible, praying no one would notice me. Blood can hold all sorts of magical properties. Hopefully, in all this talk, no one would recall the mystery of why my blood was inexplicably revolting to Strigoi. And really, why should they? I’d never been restored. I wasn’t a dhampir. There was no reason at all they’d want me in these experiments. And yet, if that was true, why was I suddenly
sweating?
“We can send it to a lab for the chemical part and try to read any magical properties off it too,” Sonya continued. She sounded apologetic, but Eddie didn’t look concerned.
“No problem,” he said. “Whatever you need.” He meant it too, I knew. Losing blood was a million times easier for him than being inactive. Besides, he probably lost more blood in daily practice than he’d even need to give up for this experiment.
“If you need another dhampir,” said Angeline. “You can use me too. Me and Eddie could help you. We’d be a team. Sydney wouldn’t have to keep coming along, especially now that she’s got a boyfriend.”
There were so many things wrong with that, I didn’t know where to start. The confidence Eddie had shown over giving blood vanished at “we’d be a team.”
“We’ll consider it,” said Sonya. There was a sparkle in her eye, and I remembered her saying she could see affection in auras. Could she detect Angeline’s crush? “For now, I’d rather not take you away from your schoolwork. It’s less important for Eddie since he’s already graduated, but you should keep up with it.” Angeline looked unhappy about that. She’d had a number of difficulties with her classes, not to mention some outright embarrassments—like when she’d been asked to create a map of Central America and had shown up with one of Nebraska and Kansas. She put on a cocky face, but I knew Amberwood overwhelmed her sometimes.
Jill joined us, looking bright and refreshed. Ideally, Moroi drank blood every day. They could survive on this twice-a-week schedule, but I’d noticed that Jill grew tired and rundown the farther she got from feedings.
“Your turn, Adrian,” she said.
He was yawning and looked startled at being noticed. I don’t think he’d really been interested in Sonya’s blood experiments. As he stood up, he glanced over at me. “Will you walk with me a sec, Sage?” Before I could even lodge my protest, he said, “Don’t worry, I’m not taking you to the feeding. I just want to ask you a quick question.”
I nodded and followed him out of the room. As soon as we were away from the others, I said, “I do not want to hear any more ‘witty’ commentary on Brayden.”
“My commentary’s hilarious, not witty. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” He came to a halt in the hallway, outside what I suspected was Dorothy’s room. “So, it seems my old man’s coming to San Diego on business next weekend.”
I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms, already getting a bad feeling about this.
“He doesn’t know why I’m here, of course, or that I’m with Jill. He doesn’t even know what city I’m in. He just thinks I’m partying in California, up to no good as usual.” I wasn’t surprised that Mr. Ivashkov wouldn’t know the true reason for Adrian being here. Jill’s “resurrection” was top secret, as were her whereabouts. We couldn’t risk any extra people—not even someone who might not mean her harm—finding out where she was.
What did surprise me was that Adrian was working so hard to act like he didn’t care what his father thought—but he obviously did. Adrian’s face was convincing, but there was a note of bitterness in his voice that gave him away. “Anyway,” Adrian continued, “he said he’d meet me for lunch if I wanted. Normally, I’d blow it off… but I’d kind of like to know what’s going on with my mom—they never tell me when I call or e-mail.” Again, I picked up mixed emotions from him. Adrian’s mother was serving time in a Moroi prison for crimes of intrigue. You wouldn’t know it by his cocky attitude and sense of humor, but it must have been hard on him.
“Let me guess,” I said. “You want to borrow my car.” I was sympathetic to those with difficult fathers, even Adrian. But my compassion only went so far and didn’t extend to Latte. I couldn’t risk any dents. Besides, the idea of being stuck without any way to get around scared me, especially when vampires were involved.
“No way,” he said. “I know better than that.”
He did? “Then what do you want?” I asked, surprised.
“I was hoping you’d drive me.”
I groaned. “Adrian, it takes two hours to get there.”
“It’s pretty much a straight shot down the highway,” he pointed out. “And I figured you’d drive a four-hour round-trip before giving up your car to someone else.”
I eyed him. “That’s true.”
He took a step closer, a disconcertingly earnest expression all over his face. “Please, Sage. I know it’s a lot to ask, so I’m not even going to pretend you’d benefit. I mean, you can spend the day in San Diego doing whatever you want. It’s not the same as going to see solar panels or whatever with Brady, but I’d owe you—literally and figuratively. I’ll pay you gas money.”
“It’s Brayden, and where in the world would you get gas money?” Adrian lived on a very tight allowance his father gave him. It was part of why Adrian was taking college classes, in the hopes that he’d get financial aid next semester and have a bit more of an income. I admired that, though if we were all actually still in Palm Springs come January, it’d mean the Moroi had some serious political problems.
“I… I’d cut back on things to come up with the extra money,” he said after a few moments of hesitation.
I didn’t bother hiding my surprise. “Things” most likely meant alcohol and cigarettes, which was where his meager allowance usually went. “Really?” I asked. “You’d give up drinking to go see your dad?”
“Well, not permanently,” he said. “That’d be ridiculous. But maybe I could switch to something slightly cheaper for a while. Like… slushes. Do you know how much I love those? Cherry, especially.”
“Um, no,” I said. Adrian was easily distractible by wacky topics and shiny objects. “They’re pure sugar.”
“Pure deliciousness, you mean. I haven’t had a good one in ages.”
“You’re getting off topic,” I pointed out.
“Oh. Right. Well, whether I have to go on a slush-based diet or whatever, you’ll get your money. And that’s the other reason… I’m kind of hoping the old man might agree to up my income. You probably don’t believe it, but I hate always borrowing from you. It’s easy for my dad to dodge phone calls, but face-to-face? He can’t escape. Plus, he thinks it’s more ‘manly’ and ‘respectable’ to ask for something directly. Classic Nathan Ivashkov honor.”
Once again, the bitterness. Maybe a little anger. I studied Adrian for a long time as I thought about my next response. The hall was dim, giving him the advantage. He could probably see me perfectly while some details were more difficult for me. Those green, green eyes I so often admired in spite of myself simply looked dark now. The pain on his face, however, was all too apparent. He hadn’t yet learned to hide his feelings from Jill and the bond, but I knew he kept that lazy, devil-may-care attitude on for the rest of the world—well, for everyone except me lately. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen him vulnerable, and it seemed weird to me that I, of all people, was the one he kept baring his emotions to. Or was it weird? Maybe this was just my social ineptitude confusing me again. Regardless, it pulled at something within me.
“Is that really what this is about? The money?” I asked, tucking my other questions aside. “You don’t like him. There has to be something more here.”
“The money’s a big part. But I meant what I said earlier… about my mom. I need to know how she is, and he won’t tell me about her. Honestly, I think he just wants to pretend it never happened—either for that reputation of his or maybe… maybe because it hurts him. I don’t know, but like I said, he can’t dodge if I’m right there. Plus…” Adrian glanced away a moment before mustering the courage to meet my eyes again. “I don’t know. It’s stupid. But I thought… well, maybe he’d be impressed that I was sticking to college this time. Probably not, though.”
My heart ached for him, and I suspected that last part—earning his dad’s approval—was bigger than Adrian was letting on. I knew all about what it was like to have a father who continually judged, whom nothing was ever good enou
gh for. I understood as well the warring emotions… how one day you could say you didn’t care, yet be yearning for approval the next. And I certainly understood motherly attachment. One of the hardest parts of being in Palm Springs was the distance from my mom and sisters.
“Why me?” I blurted out. I hadn’t meant to touch on those earlier questions, but I suddenly couldn’t help myself. There was too much tension here, too much emotion. “You could’ve asked Sonya or Dimitri to drive you. They probably would’ve even let you borrow their rental car.”
The ghost of a smile flashed across Adrian’s face. “I don’t know about that. And I think you know why I don’t want to risk being trapped in a car with our Russian friend. As for the rest… I don’t know, Sage. There’s something about you… you don’t judge like the others. I mean, you do. You’re more judgmental than any of them in some ways. But there’s an honesty to it. I feel…” The smile left his face as he faltered for words. “Comfortable around you, I guess.”
There was no way I could stand against that, though I find it ironic he was allegedly most comfortable around me when Moroi gave me panic attacks half the time. You don’t have to help, an inner voice warned me. You don’t owe him anything. You don’t owe any Moroi anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Have you forgotten Keith? This isn’t a part of your job. The bunker came back to me, and I recalled how one vampire deal had landed Keith in Re-education. How much worse was I? Social interaction was an inevitable part of this assignment, but I was blurring all the lines around it again.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it. E-mail me what time you need to leave.”
That’s when the funniest part came. He looked totally floored. “Really?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You gave me that whole pitch and didn’t really think I’d agree, did you?”
“No,” he admitted, still clearly amazed. “I can’t always tell with you. I cheat with people, you know. I mean, I’m good at reading faces, but I pick up a lot from auras and act like I just have amazing insight. I haven’t learned to totally understand humans, though. You’ve got the same colors but a different feel.”
The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines Novel Page 9
