The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines Novel Read online

  Adrian’s lips tightened, and he made no further protest. Maybe it was because he felt overruled, but I had a feeling it was because he just didn’t want to engage with Dimitri.

  With the attention off me, I settled into the living room with a book and tried to stay awake. They didn’t need me. I’d simply come to keep Eddie company. Occasionally, I’d check the others’ progress. Dimitri and Eddie watched as Sonya flipped through different images on her laptop. In turn, Adrian and Sonya watched the dhampirs closely and made notes on paper. I almost wished I could see the bands of color and light and wondered if there really were any noticeable differences. Studying Eddie and Dimitri, I sometimes would notice a change in facial expression when particularly cute or horrific images showed up on the screen, but for the most part their work remained a mystery to me.

  Curious, I walked over to Sonya when they were about halfway through. “What do you see?” I asked in a low voice.

  “Colors,” she said. “Shining around all living things. Eddie and Dimitri have different colors, but they have the same reactions.” She changed the picture on the screen to one of a factory spilling black smoke into an otherwise clear sky. “Neither of them like this. Their auras dim and turn troubled.” She flipped to the next image, a smile on her lips. Three kittens appeared on the screen. “And now they warm up. Affection is very easy to spot in an aura. So far, they react in normal ways. There’s no sign in Dimitri’s aura that he’s different from Eddie.” I returned to the couch.

  After a couple of hours, Sonya called a halt. “I think we’ve seen what we needed to. Thank you, Eddie.”

  “Happy to help,” he said, rising from his chair and stretching. He seemed relieved both that it was over and that it had involved something slightly more interesting than staring off into space. He was active and energetic, and didn’t like captivity.

  “Although… we’ve got a few other ideas,” she added. “Do you think you guys can power through a little longer?” Naturally, she asked just as I was yawning.

  Eddie regarded me with sympathy. “I’ll stay, but you don’t have to. Go sleep. I’ll get a ride home.”

  “No, no,” I said, stifling a second yawn. “I don’t mind. What are your other ideas?”

  “I was hoping to do something similar with Eddie and Dimitri,” she explained. “Except this time, we’d use sounds instead of images. Then I’d like to see how they respond to direct contact with spirit.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” I said, not really sure what that last one would entail. “Go for it. I’ll wait.”

  Sonya glanced around and seemed to notice I wasn’t the only one who looked tired. “Maybe we should get some food first.” Eddie brightened up at that.

  “I’ll go,” I offered. It was a sign of my progress that vampires talking about “food” no longer made me hyperventilate. I knew she didn’t mean blood, not if the dhampirs and I were being involved. Besides, there was no feeder around. Feeders were humans who willingly gave blood to Moroi for the high it produced. Everyone here knew better than to even joke about that around me. “There’s a good Thai carryout place a few blocks away.”

  “I’ll help,” said Adrian eagerly.

  “I’ll help,” said Sonya. “The last time you ran an errand, you were gone two hours.” Adrian scowled but didn’t deny the charge. “Our aura observations have been identical anyway. You can get them started on the sounds without me.”

  Sonya and I took everyone’s orders and set out. I didn’t really feel like I needed help, but I supposed carrying food for five people—even for a few blocks—could get unwieldy. I soon learned she had other motives for coming along, though.

  “It feels good to get outside and stretch my legs,” she said. It was early evening, with significantly less sun and heat—a condition the Moroi loved. We walked along a side street leading toward downtown, lined with cute apartments and small businesses. All around us, huge palm trees loomed, providing an interesting contrast to the eclectic urban setting. “I’ve been cooped up there all day.”

  I smiled at her. “And here I thought Adrian was the only one who got cabin fever from the work you guys do.”

  “He just complains the most,” she explained. “Which is kind of funny since he also probably gets out the most, between his classes and his cigarette breaks.” I’d nearly forgotten about the two art classes Adrian was taking at a local college. He usually kept his latest projects on display, but there’d been none in the living room lately. I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I missed them. I might give him a hard time, but sometimes those artistic glimpses into the way he thought were fascinating.

  Sonya gave me a brief recap of her wedding plans as we walked the short distance to the Thai restaurant. Her relationship with dhampir Mikhail Tanner was kind of epic on a lot of levels, I supposed. First, dhampirs and Moroi didn’t generally get involved in serious relationships. Usually, they were just casual affairs that resulted in the reproduction of more dhampirs. In addition to the scandal of even being involved, Mikhail had actually wanted to hunt down Sonya when she was a Strigoi to free her from that twisted state. Rose had attempted the same with Dimitri, believing death was better than being a Strigoi. Mikhail had failed, but their love had remained steadfast enough through the ordeal that when she’d defied the odds and been restored, they’d immediately gotten back together. I couldn’t even begin to imagine love like that.

  “We’re still deciding on flowers,” she continued. “Hydrangeas or lilies. I’m guessing I know what your vote is for.”

  “Actually, I’d say hydrangeas. I’m around too many lilies already.”

  She laughed at that and suddenly knelt near a flower bed filled with gladiolas. “More than you know. There are lilies sleeping in this bed.”

  “They’re out of season,” I pointed out.

  “Nothing’s ever out of season.” Sonya glanced around covertly and then rested her fingers on the earth. Moments later, dark green shoots appeared, growing taller and taller until a red trumpet lily opened up on top. “Ah. Red. Alchemists ones are white—oh, are you okay?”

  I had backed up so far on the sidewalk that I’d nearly walked into the street. “You… you shouldn’t do that. Someone might see.”

  “No one saw,” she said, getting to her feet. Her face softened. “I’m so sorry. I forget sometimes how you feel about this. It was wrong of me.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, not sure that it was. Vampire magic always made my skin crawl. Vampires, creatures who needed blood, were bad enough. But being able to manipulate the world with magic? Even worse. That lily, although beautiful, took on a sinister edge now. It shouldn’t have existed this time of the year.

  No more was said about magic, and we soon reached the main strip downtown, where the Thai restaurant was. We placed a giant carryout order and were told it would take about fifteen minutes. Sonya and I lingered outside, admiring downtown Palm Springs in twilight. Last-minute shoppers were out before the boutiques closed, and all the restaurants were hopping with those coming and going. Many of them had outdoor tables on the sidewalk, and friendly conversation buzzed around us. A large fountain, tiled in bright colors, fascinated children and inspired tourists to stop for photo ops. Sonya was easily distracted by the various plants and trees that the city used to beautify the streets. Even without spirit’s ability to affect living things, she was still quite the gardener.

  “Hey you! Elder Melrose!”

  I turned and winced when I saw Lia DiStefano striding toward me. Lia was a fashion designer with a shop here in downtown Palm Springs. I hadn’t realized we were standing directly across from her store. If I had, I would’ve waited inside the restaurant. Lia was short but had an overwhelming presence, enhanced by the flamboyant gypsy style she often chose for her personal attire.

  “I’ve been calling you for weeks,” she said, once she reached our side of the street. “Why don’t you answer?”

  “I’ve been really busy,” I said
straight-faced.

  “Uh-huh.” Lia put her hands on her hips and tried to stare me down, which was kind of amazing since I was taller. “When are you going to let your sister model for me again?”

  “Miss DiStefano,” I said patiently, “I’ve told you before. She can’t do it anymore. Our parents don’t like it. Our religion doesn’t allow faces to be photographed.”

  Last month, Jill’s runway-perfect build and gorgeous, ethereal features had attracted Lia’s attention. Seeing as having your picture taken en masse was kind of a bad way to stay in hiding, we’d only agreed to let Jill walk in Lia’s fashion show because all the models wore Venetian masks. Lia had been on me ever since to let Jill model again. It was hard because I knew Jill wanted to, but she understood as well as I did that her safety came first. Claiming we were part of some obscure religion had often explained away our weird behaviors to others, so I’d figured it would get Lia off my back. It hadn’t.

  “I never hear from these parents of yours,” Lia said. “I’ve watched your family. I see how it is. You’re the authority. You’re the one I have to go through. I have the chance to do a major magazine spread for my scarves and hats, and Jill was born to do it. What’s it going to take to get her? You want a cut of the pay?”

  I sighed. “It’s not about the money. We can’t show her face. If you want to put her in a Venetian mask again, then be my guest.”

  Lia scowled. “I can’t do that.”

  “Then we’re at an impasse.”

  “There must be something. Everyone has a price.”

  “Sorry.” There was no price in the world she could offer to get me to shirk my duty to Jill and the Alchemists.

  A restaurant clerk stuck his head outside and called that our order was ready, mercifully freeing us from Lia. Sonya chuckled as we loaded up on our bags and headed back down the street to make the walk to Adrian’s. The sky was still purple with the last of the day’s light, and street lamps made whimsical patterns on the sidewalk as they cast their light through the leaves of palm trees.

  “Did you ever imagine your job here would involve dodging aggressive fashion designers?” Sonya asked.

  “No,” I admitted. “Honestly, I never foresaw half the stuff this job has—”

  “Sonya?”

  A young man appeared seemingly out of nowhere, blocking our path. He was no one I knew and looked to be a little older than me. He wore his black hair in a buzz cut and was staring curiously at Sonya.

  She came to a halt and frowned. “Do I know you?”

  He brightened. “Sure. Jeff Eubanks. Remember?”

  “No,” she said politely, after a few moments of study. “You must have me mistaken for someone else. I’m sorry.”

  “No, no,” he said. “I know it’s you. Sonya Karp, right? We met in Kentucky last year.”

  Sonya stiffened. She’d made Kentucky her home while she was a Strigoi. I knew those couldn’t be pleasant memories.

  “I’m sorry,” she repeated, voice strained. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The guy was undaunted, still smiling as though they were best friends. “You’ve come a long ways from Kentucky. What brings you out here? I just transferred for work.”

  “There’s some mistake,” I told him sternly, nudging Sonya forward. I didn’t know what that mistake could be exactly, but Sonya’s attitude was all I needed. “We have to go.”

  The guy didn’t follow us, but Sonya remained silent for most of the walk home.

  “Must be hard,” I said, feeling like I should say something. “Meeting people from your past.”

  She shook her head. “He’s not. I’m certain of it. I’ve never met him.”

  I’d figured she just wanted to avoid all associations with being a Strigoi. “You’re sure? He wasn’t just some casual acquaintance?”

  She shot me a wry look. “Strigoi don’t have casual acquaintances with humans. They have them for dinner. That guy shouldn’t have known who I was.”

  “He was human? Not dhampir?” I couldn’t tell the difference, but Moroi could.

  “Definitely.”

  Sonya had stopped again and was glancing back at the guy’s retreating figure. I followed her gaze. “There must be some reason he recognized you. He seems pretty harmless.”

  That got me another smile. “Come now, Sydney. I figured you’d been around us long enough to know.”

  “Know what?”

  “Nothing’s ever as harmless as it seems.”

  CHAPTER 4

  SONYA DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING about the mysterious encounter to the rest of the gang at Adrian’s, so I respected her silence. Everyone else was too preoccupied with dinner and the experiments to notice much else. And once they conducted the second wave of experiments, even I grew too distracted to give much thought to the guy on the street.

  Sonya had said she wanted to see how Eddie and Dimitri responded to direct spirit. This was accomplished by her and Adrian focusing their magic at the dhampirs one at a time.

  “It’s sort of like what we’d do if we were trying to heal them or make something grow,” Sonya explained to me. “Don’t worry—this isn’t going to make them supersized or anything. It’s more like we’re coating them with spirit magic. If Dimitri’s got some lasting mark from when he was healed, I’d imagine it would react with our magic.”

  She and Adrian coordinated their timing and did Eddie first. Initially, there was nothing to see—just the two spirit users staring at Eddie. He looked uncomfortable under the scrutiny. Then, I saw a silvery shimmer run over his body. I stepped back, amazed—and unnerved—at seeing a physical manifestation of spirit. They repeated the process on Dimitri, with the same results. Apparently, on an unseen level, things were the same too. There was nothing notable about Dimitri’s response. All of them took this in stride as part of the scientific process, but seeing that magic actually embrace the two men had creeped me out.

  As Eddie and I drove back to Amberwood that night, I found myself sitting as far away from him as I could in the car, as though residual magic might leak over and touch me. He chatted with me in our usual, friendly way, and I had to work hard to hide my feelings. Doing so made me feel guilty. This was Eddie, after all. My friend. The magic, even if it could’ve hurt me, was long since gone.

  A good night of sleep went a long ways to shake both my anxiety and guilt, leaving the magic a distant memory when I woke and prepared for classes the next day. Even though being at Amberwood was an assignment, I’d kind of come to love the elite school. I’d been homeschooled before this, and while my dad had certainly taught tough curriculum, he’d never gone beyond what he felt was necessary. Here, even if I surpassed what my classes were learning, there were plenty of teachers ready to encourage me to push farther. I hadn’t been allowed to go to college, but this was a nice substitute.

  Before I could get on to it, I had to chaperone a training session with Eddie and Angeline. Even though he might want to avoid her, he wouldn’t—not with Jill’s safety on the line. Angeline was part of Jill’s defense. I settled down in the grass with a cup of coffee, still wondering if he wasn’t just imagining Angeline’s interest. I’d recently acquired a one-cup coffee maker for my dorm room, and while it couldn’t compare to a coffee shop, it had gotten me through a number of rough mornings. A yawn smothered my greeting as Jill sat down beside me.

  “Eddie never trains me anymore,” she said wistfully, as we watched the spectacle. Eddie was trying to patiently explain to Angeline that headbutting, while suitable in a bar brawl, was not always the best tactic with Strigoi.

  “I’m sure he will if he gets more time,” I said, though I wasn’t sure at all. Now that he could admit his feelings for Jill to himself, he was nervous about touching her too much. That, and a chivalrous part of him didn’t want Jill risking herself anyway. It was ironic because Jill’s fierceness in wanting to learn self-defense (rare in a Moroi) was what had attracted him to her. “Angeline was recruited as protection.
He’s got to make sure she can handle it.”

  “I know. I just feel like everyone’s trying to coddle me.” She frowned. “In PE, Micah won’t let me do anything. After I had all that trouble starting out, he’s now paranoid I’ll hurt myself. I keep telling him I’m fine, that it was just the sun… but well, he keeps jumping in. It’s sweet… but it drives me crazy sometimes.”

  “I’ve noticed it,” I admitted. I was in the same PE class. “I don’t think that’s why Eddie won’t train you, though. He knows you can do it. He’s proud that you can… he just thinks that if he’s doing his job, you shouldn’t have to learn. Kind of weird logic.”

  “No, I get it.” Her earlier dismay shifted to approval as she turned back to the training session. “He’s so dedicated… and, well, good at what he does.”

  “The knee’s an easy way to disable someone,” Eddie told Angeline. “Especially if you’re caught without a weapon and have to—”

  “When are you going to teach me to stake or decapitate?” she interrupted, hands on her hips. “All the time, it’s hit here, dodge this, blah, blah, blah. I need to practice killing Strigoi.”

  “No, you don’t.” Eddie was the picture of patience and back in the determined, ready mode I knew so well. “You’re not here to kill Strigoi. Maybe we can practice that at a later time, but right now, your priority is keeping mortal assassins away from Jill. That takes precedence over anything else, even our lives.” He glanced over at Jill for emphasis, and there was a flash of admiration in his eyes as he looked at her.

  “Seems like decapitation would kill Moroi just the same,” Angeline grumbled. “And besides, you did have a Strigoi problem last month.”

  Jill shifted uneasily beside me, and even Eddie paused. It was true—he had had to kill two Strigoi recently, back when Adrian’s apartment had been Keith’s. Lee Donahue had led the Strigoi to us. He was a Moroi who’d once been Strigoi. After he was returned to his natural state, Lee had wanted desperately to become a Strigoi again. He was the reason we’d learned that those restored by spirit seemed to have some Strigoi resistance. The two Strigoi he’d called to help him had tried to convert him but ended up killing him instead—a better fate than being undead, in my opinion.