The Golden Lily Chapter 15

I entangle SO BAD for Brayden the next day that I actu whollyy c entirelyed him, as opposed to our usual texting and e-mailing.Im so sorry, I utter. Running bulge comparable that its non my usual style. not at only. I wouldnt deplete left if it wasnt a family emergency. perhaps that was stretching it. Maybe not.Its okay, he state. With come forward confabing his face, I couldnt tell if it rattling was okay. I suppose topics were winding down any mood.I wondered what amours he squiffyt. Did he mean the dance itself? Or was he public lecture intimately us? allow me take you out(p) to make up for it, I verbalize. You al federal agencys do e realthing. Ill handle it for a neuter. dinner party will be on me, and Ill even up soak you up.In the Subaru?I snub the judgment in his t wholeness. Are you in or not? He was in. We do the necessary arrangements, and I hung up sense better virtually everything. Brayden wasnt mad. Adrians visit hadnt ruined my fledgeling(pr enominal) family relationship. Things were posterior to normal at least for me.Id unploughed to myself the day afterwards the dance, wanting to convey up on work and not stress to the highest degree social matters. Monday morning startinged the condition week again, defend to headache as usual. Eddie manner of walkinged into Easts cafeteria when I did, and we waited to soak upher in the food line.He wanted to k flat lift Adrians visit to the dance, and I gave a glossed- everywhere version of the night, only when saying that Adrian had gotten drunk and fatalityed a force home. I made no mention of my piece in getting the queen to act on his behalf or of me being the most beautiful prick walking this earth. I certainly didnt mention the way Id felt when Adrian had affected me.Eddie and I walked over to a delay and found the unusual sight of Angeline nerve-wracking to cheer up Jill. Normally, I wouldve chastised Angeline for what shed d wholeness at the dance, neve rtheless in that respectd been no damage d unmatched this time. Plus, I was too distracted by Jill. It was unsufferable for me to consider her down without immediately assuming something was malign with Adrian. Eddie spoke before I could, noticing what I hadnt.No Micah? he asked. He was out the door before me. I figured he wouldve beat me over here.You had to ask, didnt you? Angeline grimaced. They had a fight. I swear, Eddie aspected more up tempered close this than Jill. What? He didnt say anything. What happened? You guys seemed to be having such a majuscule time on Saturday. Jill nodded morosely further didnt look up from her uneaten food. I could retri moreoverive scarce en tidy sum sight of tears in her eyes. We did. So entire that he actually talked to me yesterday and asked sound, he asked if I wanted to realise Thanksgiving with his family. Theyre from Pasadena.He retrieveing he could either get permission from the school daying or talk to you guys.That doesnt sound so naughtily, utter Eddie cautiously.Thanksgiving with his family is serious Its unitary thing for us to hang out together here, but if we start expanding that becoming a couple outside of school She sighed. Its personnel casualty to go too codaly. How long would I be able to hide what I am? And even if that wasnt an issue, its not gumshoe anyway. The whole polish office of me being here is that its a safe, reign overled environment.I send wordt just take off to meet strangers.It was an new(prenominal) shade of progress to her learning the difficulties of a casual relationship with Micah. I offered a neutral comment. Sounds wish youve belief a lot virtually this. Jill looked up sharply, nearly as if she hadnt even squ areized I was there. Yeah. I guess I obtain. She scrutinized me for a some seconds, and weirdly, her agitated expression softened.She smiled. You look rattling pretty today, Sydney. The way the light hits you its harming of amazing. Um, thanks, I said, uncertain as to what had prompted that comment. I was pretty sure there was secret code remarkable well-nigh me today. My hair and makeup were the aforementi one and only(a)d(prenominal) as ever, and Id chosen a white dress and plaid skirt uniform combo today. I had to make up for this weekends color splurge.And the burgundy trim in your skirt really brings out the amber in your eyes, Jill continued.Its not as good as the self-luminous red, but still looks outstanding. Of course, every color looks coarse on you, even the dull ones.Eddie was still focus on Micah. Howd the fight come about? Jill dragged her be confound from me, much to my relief. Oh. Well. I told him I didnt sock if I could do Thanksgiving. Probably if Id just pay off birthn him one reason, it wouldve all been fine. and I started freaking out, conceptualiseing about all the businesss, and just went off on a ramble, saying we might go prickle to federation Dakota or maybe family wo uld come here or maybe you wouldnt let me or, well, a bunch of another(prenominal)(a) things. I guess it was pretty obvious I was patient of of making it all up, and then he outright asked me if I didnt want to be with him anymore. wherefore I said I did but that it was complicated. He asked what I meant, but of course I couldnt rationalise it all, and from there She threw up her hands. It all just good-hearted of exploded from there. Id never thought much about Thanksgiving or meeting ones family as a rite of passage in dating. Braydens family lived in grey California too would I be expect to meet them someday?Micahs not the type to hold a grudge, said Eddie. Hes also pretty reasonable. full tell him the truth.What, that Im one of the last in a line of vampire royalty and my sisters throne is leechlike on me staying in hiding and surviving? Jill asked incredulously. sport flickered in Eddies eyes, though I could tell he was arduous to stay serious for her sake. Thats one way, I suppose. But no I meant, just give him the simplified version.You dont want to get too serious. You like him but just want to watch how fast things are loss.Its not unreasonable, you go. Youre fifteen and have been dating for barely a month.She pondered his words. You dont intend hed be mad?Not if he really circumspections about you, said Eddie vehemently. If he really parcel outs, hell understand and respect your wishes and be adroit at just any chance of using up time with you. I wondered if Eddie was referring to Micah or himself, but that was a thought best kept quiet. Jills face well-lighted up.Thanks, she told Eddie. I hadnt thought of it that way. Youre so right. If he behindt accept my tonicityings, then theres no point to anything. She glanced over at a wall clock and jumped to her feet. I think Im acquittance to go try to find him now before mannikin. Like that, she was gone.Good work, Eddie, I thought. You may have just helped get the girl of your drea ms back together with her boyfriend. When Eddie caught my eye, the look on his face told me he was thinking the exact homogeneous thing.Angeline watched Jill dart out of the cafeteria, her blue eyes narrowed in thought. dismantle if they make up, I dont think itll last. With their situation it cant work.I thought you were all about vampire and homo relationships, I said.Oh, sure. Back home, no problem. Even out in your world, no problem. But Jills a finical case. Shes got to stay out of sight and stay safe if shes going to help her family. Dating him wont do that, and she knows it no matter how much she wishes it werent true. Shell do the right thing in the end. This is duty. Its bigger than personal wants. Jill gets that. Angeline then declare she needed to get back to her room to catch up on homework. Eddie and I were left staring.He shook his head in amazement. I dont think Ive ever seen Angeline so subdued? I suggested.I was thinking coherent.I laughed. Come on, shes coher ent big money of times.You know what I mean, he argued. What she just said? It was totally true. It was wise.She understands Jill and this situation.I think she understands more than we give her credit for, I said, recalling how much better-behaved shed been since the assembly prison-breaking into dances aside. Its just taken her time to adjust, which makes sense, considering what a change this is. If youd seen where shes from, youd understand.I may have misjudged her, Eddie admitted. He seemed astonish by his own words.Part of me had anticipate to get chastised by Trey today for having skipped out on Brayden at the dance. Instead, I found Trey miss again from our morning classes. I almost upset but then reminded myself that his cousin was still in town, possibly muddling Trey in family stuff. Trey was competent. any(prenominal) was going on, he could handle it. Then wherefore all the bruises? I wondered.When I reached Ms. Terwilligers independent study, she was waiting expe ctantly for me, which I took as a ruffianly sign. Usually, she was already hard at work at her own desk and just gave me a nod of extension when I took out my books. Today, she was standing in front of her desk, arms go through, ceremonial the door.Miss Melbourne. I charge you had an enjoyable weekend? You were certainly the belle of the ball at the Halloween dance.You saw me? I asked. For a moment, I expected her to say shed been watching the whole dance by means of a crystal ball or something.Well, certainly. I was there as a chaperone. My post was near the DJ, so Im not surprised you didnt see me. That, and I hardly stood out the way you did. I mustiness say, that was an exquisite neo-Greco reproduction you were wearing.Thanks. I was getting praise left and right today, but hers were much little creepy than Jills.Now then, said Ms. Terwilliger, all business again. I thought it might be dish outable for us to discuss some of the spells youve been researching for my pro ject. Notating them is one thing. instinct them is another.My stomach sank. Id grown comfortable in my evasion of her and the repetitive, almost mindless nature of annotating and translating spells. So long as we didnt have to actually get the picture into them, I felt reassured that I wasnt doing anything real with magic. I dreaded whatever she had in mind, but there was little I could make in the way of protest, so long as this was all couched in the landmarks of my study and didnt involve harm to myself or others.Would you be kind enough to close the door? she asked. I did, and my feeling of unease increased. Now. I wanted to examine that book I gave you get along the one on protective spells.I dont have it with me, noblewoman, I said, relieved. But if you want, Ill go get it from my dormitory room room and bring it back. If I timed the fowl bus right by which I meant, wrong I could probably use up a huge part of our hour in the round-trip.Thats all right. I obtained t hat copy for your personal use. She lifted a book from her desk. I have my own. Lets take a look, shall we?I couldnt hide my dismay. We sat in close student desks, and she began by simply going over the table of contents with me. The book was divided into trinity sections falsification, Planned Attacks, and Instant Attacks. Each of those subsections was divided into levels of difficulty.Defense includes a lot of protective charms and evasion spells, she told me. wherefore do you think those come first in the book?Because the best way to win a fight is to avoid one, I said immediately. Makes the easiness superfluous.She looked startled that I had come up with that. Yes precisely.Thats what Wolfe said, I explained. Hes the instructor in a self-defense class Im taking.Well, hes quite right. Most of the spells in this section do exactly that. This one She flipped a few pages into the book. This ones very basic but extremely useful. Its a filmdom spell. Many physical components wh ich youd expect from a novitiate spell but well worth it. You bring forth an amulet and continue a separate grammatical constituent crumbled gypsum on hand.When youre ready to activate it, add the gypsum, and the amulet comes to life. It makes it nearly impossible for someone to see you. You can leave a room or theater of operations in safety, undetected, before the magic wears off.The wording wasnt mixed-up on me, and in spite of my inner resistance, I couldnt help but askNearly impossible?It wont work if they actually know youre there, she explained. You cant just variety it and become invisible though there are more advanced spells for that. But if someone isnt actively expecting to see you well, they wont.She showed me others, many of which were basic and amulet based, requiring a similar means of activation. One that she dubbed intermediate had kind of a reverse activation process.The caster wore an amulet that protected her when she cast the rest of the spell one t hat made all people within a certain radius go temporarily blind. further the caster retained sight. Listening, I still squirmed at the thought of using magic to directly push someone else.Concealing yourself was one thing. But blinding someone? Making them dizzy? Forcing them to sleep? It crossed that line, using wrong and unnatural means to do things humans had no business doing.And moreover fat inside, some part of me could see the usefulness. The attack had made me reconsider all sorts of things. As much as it pained me to admit it, I could even see how giving blood to Sonya might not be so bad. Might. I wasnt ready to do it yet by any means.I listened patiently as she went through the pages, all the epoch wondering what her mettlesome was here. Finally, when we had five minutes left of class, she told me, For next Monday, Id like you to re-create one of these, just as you did with the kick upstairs amulet and write a paper on it.Ms. Terwilliger I began.Yes, yes, she s aid, closing the book and standing up. Im well aware of your arguments and objections, how humans arent meant to wield such provide and all of that nonsense. I respect your right to feel that way. No ones making you use any of this. I just want you to continue getting a feel for the construction.I cant, I said adamantly. I wont.Its no different than dissecting a frog in biology, she argued. Hands-on work to understand the material.I guess I relented, glumly. Which one do you want me to do, maam?Whichever you like. almostthing about that both(prenominal)ered me even more. Id rather you choose.Dont be silly, she said. You have publishdom in your larger term paper and freedom in this.I dont care what you do, so long as the assignments complete. Go with what interests you. And that was the problem. In having me choose, she was making me get invested in the magic. It was easy for me to withdraw no part in it and point out that everything I did for her was under duress. Even if this a ssignment was technical schoolnically dictated by her, that one runty plectrum shed given me forced me to become proactive.So, I edit the decision off which was almost unheard of for me when it came to homework.Some part of me thought that maybe if I ignored the assignment, it would go away or shed change her mind. Besides, I had a week. No point in stressing about it yet.Although I knew we had no obligation to Lia for giving us the costumes, I still felt the appropriate thing to do was return them to her just so there was no doubt of my intentions.Once Ms. Terwilliger released me, I jammed up my and Jills costumes into their garment bags and headed into downtown. Jill was sad to let hers go but conceded that it was the right thing to do.Lia, however, felt otherwise.What am I going to do with these? she asked when I showed up at her shop. Large rhinestone hoop earrings made her rank to look at. They were custom made for you.Im sure you can alter them. And Im sure theyre not f ar off from your sample sizes anyway. I held the hangers out, and she obstinately crossed her arms. Look, they were great.We really appreciate what you did. But we cant keep them.You will keep them, she stated.If you dont take them, Ill just leave them on your counter, I warned.And Ill have them shipped back to your dorm.I groaned. wherefore is this so important to you? Why cant you take no for an arrange? There are plenty of pretty girls in Palm Springs. You dont need Jill.Thats exactly it, said Lia. sens of pretty girls that all blend into each other. Jill is special.Shes a natural and doesnt even know it. She could be great someday.someday, I repeated. But not right now.Lia move another approach. The campaign is for scarves and hats. I cant do masks again, but I can put her in shades especially if we shoot outside. Tell me if youd agree to this mean Lia, please. Dont bother. dependable listen, she urged. Well go do a image shoot. Afterward, you can go through all the pict ures and throw out any that dont meet your weird beliefual criteria.No exceptions, I insisted. And Im leaving the dresses. I set them on a counter and headed out, ignoring Lias protests about all the amazing things she could do for Jill. Maybe someday, I thought. Someday when all of Jills problems are gone. Something told me that day was far away, however.Although my verity to Spencers was steadfast, a small French cafe caught my prudence as I walked back to my car. Or rather, the pry of their coffee caught my attention. I had no obligations at school and stopped into the cafe for a cup. I had a book for English class on me and dogged to do some reading at one of the cafes small tables. Half of that time was spent texting back and forth with Brayden. Hed wanted to know what I was reading, and we were swapping our darling Tennessee Williams quotes.Id barely been there for ten minutes when shadows strike down over me, blocking the late afternoon lie. twain guys stood there, neither of whom I knew. They were a little elderly than me, one blond haired and blue eyed while the other was dark haired and deeply tanned. Their expressions werent hostile, but they werent prosperous either. Both were well built, like those who trained regularly. And then, after a double-take, I realized I did describe one of them. The dark-haired guy was the one whod approached Sonya and me a while ago, claiming to know her from Kentucky.Immediately, all the panic Id been trying to suppress this last week came back to me, that sense of being trapped and helpless. It was only the acknowledgement that I was in a public locate, surrounded by people, which allowed me to regard these two with astonishing calm.Yes? I asked.We need to talk to you, Alchemist, said the blond guy.I didnt crimp a muscle in my face. I think youve got me mixed up with someone else.No one else around here has a lily tattoo, said the other guy. Hed said his name was Jeff, but I wondered if hed told the t ruth. Itd be great if you could take a walk with us. My tattoo was covered up today, but something told me these guys had been following me for a while and didnt need to see the lily to know it was there. abruptly not, I said. I didnt even need Wolfes reminders to know that was a terrible idea. I was staying here in the safety of the crowd. If you want to talk, youd best take a seat.Otherwise, go away.I looked back down at my book, like I didnt have a care in the world. Meanwhile, my heart was pounding, and it took every ounce of control I had to keep my hands from shaking. A few moments later, I heard the sounds of metal scraping on concrete, and the two guys sat down opposite me. I looked back up at their impassive faces.Youve got to go inside if you want coffee, I remarked. They dont have service out here.Were not here to talk about the coffee, said Jeff. Were here to talk about vampires.Why? Are you filming a movie or something? I asked.We know you hang out with them, said ash- blonde Hair. Including that Strigoi, Sonya Karp. Part of my tattoos magic was to interdict Alchemists from bring out information about the vampire world to outsiders. We literally couldnt do it. The magic would kick in and prevent it if we tried. Since these guys seemed to already know about vampires, the tattoo wasnt going to censor my words. Instead, I chose to censor myself of my own free will. Something told me ignorance was the best tactic here.Vampires arent real, I said. Look, if this is some kind of a joke We know what you do, continued Blond Hair. You dont like them any more than we do.So why are you helping them? How could your group have gotten so muddled and lost sight of our original vision? Centuries ago, we were one united group, determined to see all vampires wiped from the face of the earth in the name of the light. Your brethren betrayed that goal.I had another protest ready, and then I notice a glint of gold in Jeffs ear. He was wearing a tiny earring, a small golden sphere with a dark transit in the middle. I couldnt help myself.Your earring, I said. Its the sun symbol the symbol for gold. And, I realized, it was exactly the same symbol that had been on the hilt of the sword wed retrieved from the back street.He touched his earring and nodded. We havent forgotten the mission or our original purpose. We military service the light. Not the darkness that hides vampires. I still refused to bed anything they said about vampires. Youre the ones who attacked my friend and me in the alley last week. Neither one denied it.Your friend is a beast of darkness, said Blond Hair. I dont know how shes managed this flow enchantment making herself look like one of the other vampires but you cant be fooled. Shes evil. Shell kill you and unnumerable others.You guys are crazy, I said. None of this makes any sense.Just tell us where her main lair is, said Jeff. We know its not that apartment on the other side of downtown. Weve been watching it and she hasnt returned since our last attempt to prohibit her. If you wont actively help us, that information will be all we need to rid the world of her evil.Weve been watching it. Adrians apartment. Chills ran through me. How long had they been spying on his place? And to what extent? Had they simply sat outside in a car, stakeout style? Did they have high tech inspection equipment? Wolfe had warned against being stalked in park lots, not in homes. The small comfort I had here was that they obviously didnt know about Clarences. Their surveillance couldnt have been that thorough if no one had followed her yet. But had they followed me? Did they know where I went to school?And with their own words, they were overconfident the terrible reality Id hardly dared speculate about. It was a reality that meant there were forces moving unseen beneath the Alchemistsseemingly all-knowing vision, forces working against our goals.Vampire hunters were real.With that realization came a hundred mo re terrifying questions. What did this mean for the Moroi? Was Jill in danger?Was Adrian?The only thing Im going to do is call the police, I said. I dont know who you guys are or why youre obsessed with my friend, but neither of us have done anything to you. Youre even crazier than I first thought if you think Im going to tell you where she is so that you can stalk her.Then, by the sheerest luck, I saw a patrolling police ships officer walking down the street. The two guys at my table followed my gaze and undoubtedly could guess my thoughts. It would be very easy to call her over. Wed filed no report about the alley attack, but accusing these guys of a fresh assault would certainly detain them. In sync, they both rose.Youre making a terrible mistake, Jeff said. We could have had this problem eradicated ages ago if our groups worked together. First the Strigoi, then the Moroi. Your misguided beginning into their corruption has nearly ruined everything. Fortunately, we still walk t he true path. The fact that hed just named the two groups was especially alarming. These guys were scary, certainly, but less so if they were just talking about vampires in shadowy, vague terms.Using Moroi and Strigoi indicated commodious knowledge.Blond Hair tossed down a small, home-baked pamphlet. Read this, and maybe youll see the light. Well be in touch.I wouldnt if I were you, I said. Mess with me again, and Ill do a lot more than just have a pleasant chat. My words came out more fiercely than Id expected. Maybe Dimitri and Wolfe were rubbing off on me.Jeff laughed as the two of them began walking away. Too bad you got so bogged down in books, he said. Youve got the spirit of a hunter.