The Golden Lily

CHAPTER 18

JILL DIDN’T GIVE ME any starry-eyed looks at breakfast the next morning, which was kind of a relief. Micah had surfaced again, and while they weren’t as flirty as they’d been in the past, the two were chatting animatedly away about a science project she had. Eddie and Angeline were equally engrossed in conversation, making plans for when she was free of her suspension. Her blues eyes were alight with happiness as they talked, and I realized that she had legitimate feelings for him. She hadn’t just been throwing herself at him for the sake of conquest. I wondered if he knew.

It would’ve been easy to feel like a fifth wheel here, but instead, I was pleased and content to see my little cohort getting along so well. Stanton’s conversation had still left me conflicted, but there was nothing wrong with appreciating the peace around here. I would’ve been happier still if Trey’s behavior had also normalized, but when I reached my history class later, he was absent yet again. I had no doubt he’d claim he had family stuff, but my earlier suspicions were returning, about whether his family might be responsible for his injuries. Should I report my worries to someone? Who? I didn’t want to jump to conclusions either, which left me in a bind.

Eddie and I always sat near each other in that class, and I leaned toward him before the bell rang, pitching my voice low to address another concern. “Hey, have you noticed that Jill’s been kind of acting weirdly around me?”

“She’s got a lot going on,” he said, ever quick to defend her.

“Yeah, I know, but you had to have noticed her last night. In the library? I mean-keeping in mind I’m terrible at figuring this stuff out-it was like she had a crush on me or something.”

He laughed at that. “She was kind of laying it on thick, but I don’t think you have to worry about some romantic complication. She just looks up to you a lot, that’s all. Part of her still wants to be a brave fighter who rushes out fearlessly…” He paused as he savored that idea, a mix of pride and rapture on his face before he tuned back into me. “But at the same time, you’re starting to show her there all sorts of ways to be powerful.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I think. But speaking of her being a brave fighter…” I studied him curiously. “Why don’t you train her anymore? Don’t you want her to hone her skills?”

“Oh, yeah. That. Well… there are a few reasons for it. One is I need to focus on Angeline. Another is that I just don’t want Jill worried about that. I’ll do the protecting.” Those were exactly the reasons I’d guessed. The next one was not. “And I guess… the other thing is that I don’t feel right being in contact with her like that. I mean, I know it means nothing to her… but it means something to me.”

Again, my social skills took a moment to kick in. “You mean, you don’t like that you have to touch her?”

Eddie actually blushed. “It doesn’t bother me, that’s the problem. Better for us to spend time together in a hands-off way.”

I hadn’t expected that, but I could understand it. Leaving Eddie to his own inner demons, I soon got caught up in the day and wondering what had happened to Trey. I’d hoped he’d come into class late, but he didn’t. In fact, he didn’t surface for the rest of the day, not even when I was finishing up my independent study. I’d thought he might come by again for homework.

“You look troubled,” said Ms. Terwilliger, watching me pack up when the bell rang. “Worried about getting your project in on time?”

“No.” I’d actually finished two of the charms, but I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that. “I’m worried about Trey. He keeps missing school. Do you know why he’s out? I mean, if you can tell me?”

“The office notifies us if a student will be out for the day, but they don’t tell us the reason. If it makes you feel better, Mr. Juarez’s absence was called in this morning. He hasn’t disappeared.” I almost mentioned my fears about his home but held off. I still needed more evidence.

Between worrying about Trey, Ms. Terwilliger’s work, the Warriors, Brayden, and all my other myriad complications, I knew I couldn’t waste any of my free time. Nonetheless, I went to Adrian’s after school on a mission I couldn’t refuse. On our way to Wolfe’s class earlier this week, Adrian had mentioned offhandedly that he hadn’t had the Mustang looked at by a mechanic before purchasing it. Although my own novice assessment hadn’t found anything wrong with the car, I pushed for Adrian to get the car examined-which, of course, meant I had to look up a specialist and make the appointment. It was just before my textile museum date, but I was certain I had time to make it all work.

“The guy I bought it from seemed pretty trustworthy,” Adrian told me, after we’d dropped the car off with the mechanic. He’d told us he’d look at it right away and that we could hang around and wait. His shop was on the outskirts of a suburban area, so Adrian suggested we go for a walk through the neighborhoods. “And it ran just fine when I did the test drive, so I figured everything was okay.”

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t problems you can’t see. It’s best to be safe,” I said, knowing I sounded preachy. “Bad enough you got a car you can’t drive.” Glancing over, I saw a small, half smile on his face.

“With your help, I’ll be a pro in no time. Of course, if you don’t want to help anymore, I’ll just wing it and figure it out on my own.”

I groaned. “You already know what I’d say about-wow.”

The neighborhood we were in was pretty affluent. In fact, I’d say the houses bordered on being bona fide mansions. We stopped in front of one that looked like a cross between a hacienda and a southern plantation, large and sprawling with a pillared porch and pink stucco siding. The front yard was a mix of climates, green grass with palm trees lining the path to the house. The trees were like tropical sentries.

“Gorgeous,” I said. “I love architecture. In another life, I’d have studied that-not chemicals and vampires.” As we continued on, we saw more of the same, each house trying to outdo the others. All of them had high fences and hedges blocking their backyards. “I wonder what’s back there. Pools, probably.”

Adrian stopped in front of another. It was as yellow as his car and showed another mix of styles, like a southwest version of a medieval castle, complete with turrets. “Nice juxtaposition,” he remarked.

I turned, knowing my eyes were wide as I stared at him. “Did you just use juxtaposition in a sentence?”

“Yes, Sage,” he said patiently. “We use it all the time with art, when we’re mixing different components. That, and I know how to use a dictionary.” He turned from me and scanned the house, his eyes resting on a gardener who was out trimming some hedges. A sly smile crossed Adrian’s lips. “You want to see the back? Come on.”

“What are you-” Before I could say another word, Adrian strode up the granite pathway and cut across the lawn to where the guy was working. I didn’t want anything to do with this, but the responsible part of me couldn’t let Adrian get into trouble. I hurried after him.

“Are the owners home?” Adrian asked.

The gardener had stopped his clipping and stared at Adrian. “No.”

“When will they be back?”

“After six.”

I was astonished that the guy was answering these questions. If I’d been asked them, I would’ve assumed someone was staging a break-in. Then, I saw the glazed look in the gardener’s eyes and realized what was going on.

“Adrian-”

Adrian’s eyes never left the other man’s face. “Take us to the backyard.”

“Of course.”

The gardener dropped his hedge clippers and headed for a gate on the side of the house. I tried to get Adrian’s attention to stop this, but he was outpacing me. Our guide stopped at the gate, entered a security code, and led us to the back. My protests died on my lips as I gazed around.

This back property was almost three times the size of the front. There were more palm trees ringing the yard, along with a terraced garden full of plants, both native and non-native. A huge oval shaped pool dominated the space, its turquoise hue startling against the gray of the granite that surrounded it. On one side of the pool, several steps led up to a smaller, square pool. It could only hold a few people, and a waterfall poured out from it, down to the larger pool. Tiki torches and tables around the pools completed the lush setup.

“Thanks,” Adrian told the gardener. “Go back to your work. It’s okay if we’re here. We’ll see ourselves out.”

“Of course,” the man replied. He walked back the way we’d come in.

I snapped back to reality. “Adrian! You used compulsion on that guy. That… I mean, it’s…”

“Awesome?” Adrian walked over to the steps leading up to the upper pool. “Yeah, I know.”

“It’s wrong! All of this. Breaking and entering, and compulsion…” I shivered, despite the sweltering heat. “It’s immoral. Controlling someone else’s mind. You know it! Your people and mine both agree.”

“Eh, no harm done.” He climbed to the top of the pool and stood on its edge, surveying his kingdom. The sun brought out chestnut glints in his brown hair. “Believe me, that guy was easy to control. Weak-willed. I barely had to use compulsion.”

“Adrian-”

“Come on, Sage. Not like we’re going to hurt anything. Check out this view.”

I was almost afraid to go up there. It was so rare for any of the Moroi here to use their magic that it was easy for me to pretend it didn’t exist. Seeing Adrian use it-the most insidious kind-made my skin crawl. As I’d told Ms. Terwilliger in our charm discussion, no one should be able to control another like that.

“Come on,” Adrian repeated. “You’re not worried I’m going to compel you up here, are you?”

“Of course not,” I said. And I meant it. I didn’t know why, but some part of me knew Adrian would never, ever harm me. Reluctantly, I went to join him, hoping that would encourage him to leave. When I reached the top, my jaw dropped. The intimate pool hadn’t seemed that high, but it gave us a stunning view of the mountains off in the distance, rugged and majestic against the blue of the sky. The larger pool glittered below us, and the waterfall made it look like we’d entered some mystical oasis.

“Cool, huh?” he asked. Adrian sat down on the small pool’s edge, rolled up his jeans, and took off his socks and shoes.

“Now what are you doing?” I asked.

“Making the most out of this.” He put his feet in the water. “Come on. Do something bad for a change. Not that it’s really that bad. We aren’t trashing this place or anything.”

I hesitated, but the water was intoxicating, as though it too could wield compulsion. Settling down, I copied Adrian and dipped my bare feet into the water. Its coolness was startling-and wonderful-in this intense heat.

“I could get used to this,” I admitted. “But what if the owners come home early?”

He shrugged. “I can talk us out of it, don’t worry.”

That wasn’t exactly reassuring. I turned back to the gorgeous view and lush property. I wasn’t always the most imaginative person, but I thought back to what I’d said about living another life. What would it be like to have a home like this? To stay in one place? To spend days by the pool, soaking in the sun, and not worrying about the fate of humanity? I fell into daydreams and was so caught up that I lost track of time.

“We have to get back to the shop,” I exclaimed. Glancing over, I was astonished to see Adrian watching me, a look of contentment on his face. His eyes seemed to study my every feature. Seeing me notice him, he immediately looked away. His usual smirky expression replaced the dreamy one.

“The mechanic will wait,” he said.

“Yeah, but I’m supposed to meet Brayden soon. I’ll be-” That’s when I got a good look at Adrian. “What have you done? Look at you! You shouldn’t be out here.”

“It’s not that bad.”

He was lying, and we both knew it. It was late afternoon, and the sun was merciless. I’d certainly felt it, though the coolness of the water had helped distract me. That, and I was human. Sure, sunstroke and sunburns were concerns, but I loved the sun and had a high tolerance for it. Vampires did not.

Sweat poured off Adrian, soaking his shirt and hair. Pink blotches covered his face. They were familiar. I’d seen them on Jill back when she’d been forced to play outdoor sports in PE. Left unchecked, they’d turn into burns. I jumped to my feet.

“Come on, we have to get out of here before you get worse. What were you thinking?”

His expression was astonishingly nonchalant for someone who looked like he would pass out. “It was worth it. You looked… happy.”

“That’s crazy,” I said.

“Not the craziest thing I’ve ever done.” He smiled as he looked up at me. His eyes grew slightly unfocused, as though they were seeing more than just me. “What’s a little crazy here and there? I’m supposed to be doing experiments… why not see which is brighter: your aura or the sun?”

The way he looked at me and spoke unnerved me, and I remembered what Jill had said, how spirit slowly drove its users insane. Adrian hardly seemed insane, but there was certainly something haunted about him, a definite shift from his usual sharp wit. It was as though something else had seized hold of him. I remembered that poem line, about dreaming and waking.

“Come on,” I repeated. I held out my hand. “You shouldn’t have used spirit. We need to get you out of here.”

He took my hand and staggered to his feet. A rush of warmth and electricity went through me, just as it had the last time we touched, and our eyes held. For a moment, all I could think about were his earlier words: You looked happy…

I brushed such sentiments aside and quickly got him out of there, only to discover the mechanic hadn’t finished. At least in his shop, we were able to get Adrian some water and air conditioning. As we waited I texted Brayden. Running an hour late with family stuff. Sorry. Will be there as soon as I can. My phone chimed back about thirty seconds later: That only leaves an hour for the textile museum.

“That’s not nearly enough time,” said Adrian deadpan. I hadn’t realized he’d been reading over my shoulder. I moved the phone away and suggested to Brayden we just meet for an early dinner. He concurred.

“I’m a mess,” I muttered, checking myself out in a mirror. The heat had definitely taken its toll, and I looked sweaty and worn.

“Don’t worry about it,” Adrian told me. “If he didn’t notice how awesome you were in the red dress, he probably won’t notice anything now.” He hesitated. “Not that there’s even anything to notice. You’re as cute as usual.”

I was about to snap at him for teasing me, but when I looked over, his face was deadly earnest. Whatever retort I might have managed died on my lips, and I quickly got up to check our status, in order to hide how flustered I felt.

The mechanic finally finished-no problems found-and Adrian and I headed downtown. I kept watching him anxiously, afraid he’d pass out.

“Stop worrying, Sage. I’m fine,” he said. “Although… I’d be better with some ice cream or gelato. Even you have to admit that’d be good right now.”

It would, actually, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “What is it with you and frozen desserts? Why do you always want them?”

“Because we live in a desert.”

I couldn’t argue with that reasoning. We reached his place, and I swapped cars. Before he went inside, I inundated him with advice about getting water and resting. Then, I spoke the words that had been burning inside of me.

“Thank you for the poolside outing,” I said. “Your near-sun-stroke aside, that was pretty amazing.”

He gave me a cocky smile. “Maybe you’ll get used to vampire magic after all.”

“No,” I said automatically. “I’ll never get used to that.”

His smile immediately disappeared. “Of course not,” he murmured. “See you around.”

I finally made it to dinner. I’d chosen an Italian restaurant, filled with the scents of garlic and cheese. Brayden sat at a corner table, sipping water and earning glares from the waitress, who was probably impatient for him to order. I sat down opposite him, dropping my satchel beside me.

“I am so sorry,” I told him. “I had to do this thing with my, uh, brother.”

If Brayden was mad, he didn’t show it. That was his way. He did, however, give me a scrutinizing look. “Was it something athletic? You look like you ran a marathon.”

It wasn’t an insult, not by any means, but it did take me aback-mostly because I was thinking of Adrian’s comment. Brayden had had almost nothing to say about my Halloween costume, but he noticed this?

“We were out in Santa Sofia, getting his car looked at.”

“Nice area. Keep going up the highway, and you can get to Joshua Tree National Park. Ever been there?”

“No. Just read about it.”

“Iconic place. The geology’s fascinating.”

The waitress came by, and I gratefully ordered an iced latte. Brayden was more than happy to tell me about some of the park’s geology, and we soon fell into our comfortable rhythm of intellectual discussion. I didn’t know the park’s specific makeup, but I knew more than enough about geology in general to keep up. In fact, I was able to talk on autopilot while my mind wandered back to Adrian. I recalled again what he’d said about the red dress. I also couldn’t shake the comment about me being happy, and how that was worth his suffering.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm?” I realized I’d lost the thread of our conversation after all.

“I asked which type of desert you find more striking,” Brayden explained. “The Mojave region gets all the hype, but I actually prefer the Colorado Desert.”

“Ah.” I slipped back into the flow. “Um, Mojave. I like the rock formations better.”

This triggered a debate of the regions while we ate, and Brayden seemed happier and happier. He really did like having someone who could keep up with him, I realized. None of my books had said anything about the way to a man’s heart being through academic debates. I didn’t mind it, though. I liked the conversation, but it didn’t exactly send thrills through me. I had to remind myself it was still early in our relationship-if I could even call it that. Surely the head over heels part would come soon.

We talked for a long time after the meal was over. The waitress brought us an unsolicited dessert menu when we finished, and I surprised myself by saying, “Wow… I can’t believe how much I want gelato right now. That never happens.” Maybe the sweat and heat had leached my nutrients… or maybe I still had Adrian on the brain.

“I’ve never heard you order dessert,” said Brayden, sliding his menu away. “It’s not too much sugar?”

It was another of those weird statements of his that could be interpreted a number of different ways. Was he judging me? Did he think I shouldn’t have any sugar? I didn’t know, but it was enough for me to close the menu and set it on top of his.

With no other scheduled forms of entertainment for the night, we decided to just go for a walk after dinner. The temperature was down to moderate levels, and it was still light enough out that I wasn’t as concerned about the Warriors of Light jumping out from corners. That didn’t mean I ignored Wolfe’s teachings, however. I still kept an eye on my surroundings, watching for anything suspicious.

We reached a small park that only took up one city block and found a bench in the corner. We sat down on it, watching children play on the opposite side of the lawn while we continued a discussion on bird watching in the Mojave. Brayden put his arm around me as we talked, and eventually, we exhausted the topic and simply sat in comfortable silence.

“Sydney…”

I turned my gaze from the children, surprised at Brayden’s uncertain tone, which was very different from the one he’d just been using to defend the superiority of the mountain bluebird over the western bluebird. There was softness in his eyes now as he looked at me. The evening light made his hazel eyes take on a little more gold than usual but completely hid the green. Too bad.

Before I could say anything, he leaned forward and kissed me. It was more intense than the last one, though still a long ways from the epic, all-consuming kisses I’d seen in movies. He did rest his hand on my shoulder this time, gently bringing me a little closer. The kiss also lasted longer than previous ones, and I again tried to let myself go and lose myself in the feel of someone else’s lips.

He was the one who ended it, a bit more abruptly than I would’ve expected. “I-I’m sorry,” he said, looking away. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?” I asked. It wasn’t so much that I’d been yearning for the kiss as it was that this seemed exactly like the kind of place you’d want to kiss: a romantic park at sunset.

“We’re in public. It’s kind of vulgar, I suppose.” Vulgar? I wasn’t even sure if we were really all that much in public, seeing as no one was next to us and we were in the shade of some trees. Brayden sighed with dismay. “I guess I just lost control. It won’t happen again.”

“It’s okay,” I said.

It hadn’t seemed like that much of a loss of control, but what did I know? And I wondered if maybe a small loss of control wasn’t such a bad thing. Wasn’t that kind of the basis of passion? I didn’t know that either. The only thing I knew for sure was that this kiss had been a lot like the last one. Nice, but it didn’t blow me away. My heart sank. There was something wrong with me. Everyone was always going on about how socially inept I was. Did it extend to romance as well? Was I so cold that I’d spend my life never feeling anything?

I think Brayden misread my dismay and assumed I was upset with him. He stood up and held out his hand. “Hey, let’s go walk to that tea shop one block over. They’ve got this local painter’s art on display that I think you’ll like. Besides, no calories in tea, right? Better than dessert.”

“Right,” I said. Thinking of the gelato didn’t cheer me up any. The Italian place had had pomegranate, which kind of sounded like the best thing ever. As I stood up, my cell phone rang and startled both of us. “Hello?”

“Sage? It’s me.”

I had no reason to be mad at Adrian, not after what he’d done for me, but somehow I felt irritated by the interruption. I was trying to make the most of this night with Brayden, and Adrian unsettled everything.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Are you still downtown? You need to come over right now.”

“You know I’m out with Brayden,” I said. This was pushy, even for Adrian. “I can’t just drop everything and entertain you.”

“It’s not about me.” It was then that I noticed how hard and serious his voice was. Something tightened in my chest. “It’s about Sonya. She’s missing.”