The Ruby Circle

Chapter 16 Adrian

I HAD TROUBLE SLEEPING after Sydney left. I couldn’t shake my fears about what kind of dangers she was walking into and how I couldn’t be there to protect her. It didn’t matter that she was brave and clever and competent—and probably better at protecting me than I was her. The urge to look out for her was just too strong.

I also had trouble sleeping because my bed was a giant beanbag.

“You sure you don’t want the couch?” asked Marcus.

I shook my head and gave the beanbag a couple of half-hearted punches to get it into shape. “You take it,” I said. “I don’t know if I could fall asleep under any conditions.”

He grinned. “Howie probably has something to help you sleep.”

“No thanks,” I said with a snort.

Marcus shut out the lights and curled up on the mustard yellow couch. Silence fell, aside from the occasional faint strains of “Mr. Tambourine Man” coming from the basement. I shifted a few times, trying to get comfortable but having little success. I tried to turn my thoughts from Sydney toward thinking about tomorrow, when I’d be helping the witches interrogate Alicia. Those weren’t exactly calming thoughts, but they at least helped me channel my emotions into something besides anxiety. Before she’d left, Maude had said someone would come and pick me up tomorrow evening to take me to where Alicia was being held. Apparently, they were busy securing a location and also trying to figure out a way to slip Ms. Terwilliger out without the spying Alchemists following her.

Amazingly, despite all the crazy conditions, I did finally fall asleep. And even more incredibly, I found myself being swept into a spirit dream by someone else. As a lush tropical garden slowly materialized around me, I knew who the dream’s creator was even before she appeared.

“Hello, Sonya,” I said.

She emerged from behind a honeysuckle bush, wearing casual gardening clothes but with her red hair immaculately styled. “Adrian,” she said, by way of greeting. “You’re hard to find in sleep these days. I can’t tell what schedule you’re on.”

“Not much of any,” I admitted. “Haven’t had much sleep, really. We’ve been busy.”

“I’ve gathered as much. Rumor has it the Alchemists know you left Court now.”

“Afraid so.” I leaned against a palm tree. “You could have called if you wanted to talk.”

She nodded. “I know. But I wanted to chat face-to-face. There was also something you could only see in a dream. Or rather, someone.”

It took me a moment to realize what she meant. “Nina.”

Sadness filled Sonya’s features. “Yes. Her waking condition hasn’t changed very much. She’s not exactly comatose, but she’s also not particularly responsive. If you put food in front of her, she’ll eat it. Turn on a shower, she’ll stand under it. But she makes few decisions that aren’t initiated for her. And she never talks.”

The shock of that news made me reel, and I used a small bit of spirit to create a bench to sit on. “Is there any hope for improvement?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Sonya sat beside me. “I mean, I’m praying there is. I never want to say there’s no hope. But that spirit overload . . . it was too much, with too little preparation. She was in such a fragile state already from excessive use and in no way prepared to handle what she summoned. The scarring from it was formidable.”

My heart plummeted. “I should have stopped her somehow.”

“I don’t think you could have, Adrian. She was intent on doing whatever she thought she had to do to find her sister.”

I hesitated, almost afraid to speak my next words. “I found her. I found Olive and learned why she ran. But . . . well, the story doesn’t exactly have a happy ending.”

Sonya didn’t press me for details. “I’m not sure I’d tell her that.”

“Tell her?” I asked.

“Yes. That’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you. When Nina wouldn’t respond in person, I tried reaching her in spirit dreams. That didn’t work either at first. Then I was able to—in a way. I’ll show you.”

She fell silent and stared off at a clearing in the garden. After several moments of intense concentration, a huge rectangular block of stone appeared. A small opening was cut into it, but that opening was covered in bars. I stood up and peered inside, gasping at what I saw. Nina sat there in the small stone cell, on the floor, wrapped in shadows.

“Nina!” I exclaimed.

She stared off at the stone wall, saying nothing, her face expressionless.

“Nina? Can you hear me?”

Sonya came to stand beside me. “I think she can, but I just don’t think she’s capable of responding.”

I gestured to the portable stone prison around her. “Where did this come from?”

“Her mind,” replied Sonya. “This is how she sees herself: trapped. But honestly? The fact that she appears this way at all is promising. Before, there wasn’t enough of her mind to form any sort of connection with. I’m hoping, in time, that she’ll advance further, so I try to talk to her either in person or in dreams. I thought you’d like to know, in case you want to visit as well.”

“I do,” I said, still coming to terms with the shock I felt at her condition. Even while imprisoned and tortured, Sydney’s mind had remained strong enough to connect at the spirit-dream level. What kind of damage had been done to Nina to put her in this state? Was this the danger I was courting with my continued spirit use?

“I think it’s good for different people to talk to her,” said Sonya carefully. “But I think certain topics are best avoided until she’s recovered. Like unhappy endings.”

She didn’t need to elaborate for me to understand. Knowing the truth—that Olive was dead—was probably not going to be therapeutic for Nina’s immediate recovery. I nodded and stepped back up to the stone cell’s window.

“I’m glad to see you again, Nina. There’s so much I want to tell you. A lot of it’s about Olive. And some of it . . . some of it’s really incredible.” I smiled as Declan came to mind. “You’re definitely going to want to hear about it, so you need to come back to us soon, okay?”

There was no response or change of expression, not even at the mention of Olive’s name.

“It’ll take time,” said Sonya, gently touching my arm. “But all of this helps.”

“Thank you for letting me know about her,” I said. As my gaze shifted back to Sonya, it hit me that she too would probably be very interested in knowing about Declan. I didn’t know for certain, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the way spirit was infused in him was exactly the feat she was trying to replicate for her vaccine. If she could see him, she might make incredible progress—and yet, that was exactly what Olive had been trying to avoid. It was what she’d died for.

“What is it?” asked Sonya, seeing my scrutiny.

I gave her a weak smile. “Nothing. There’s just a lot going on.”

“I can imagine—and I won’t keep you. I just wanted you to know Nina’s progress and see how you could talk to her.”

“Thanks,” I said, giving a Sonya a small hug. “I’ll keep checking in with her. Let me know if she wakes in the real world.”

The dream dissolved, and I returned to my own sleep, surprising myself when I slept in to almost noon at Howie’s. When I woke, another meal of junk food followed. I’d never wanted a salad so much in my life. I also learned from Marcus that Sabrina had sent an update from the Warriors’ compound. They were all inside and safe, and so far, their cover was holding.

That news got me through the day until evening came around, and an unknown car pulled up outside our safe house. I could see Marcus starting to freak out until I recognized Neil in the driver’s seat.

“Jackie Terwilliger sent me to fetch you,” he explained. “I helped get her out earlier and shake the Alchemists who were watching her house. She’s getting things ready for Alicia now.”

At the mention of Alicia’s name, his expression darkened. She had that effect on people. “I’m kind of surprised I get to be the ‘lucky’ one to witness her interrogation,” he added. “But with Eddie off on some mission, and Rose and Dimitri doing something mysterious at Clarence’s, I’m the only free guardian around.”

“Did you talk to Rose and Dimitri?” I asked casually.

“I saw them,” said Neil. “And your mum. I stopped by this morning. That’s a cute little fellow she’s taking care of, by the way. Is he part of the reason Rose and Dimitri are sticking around? I got the impression Rose really would have liked to come with me.”

I hesitated. Neil still didn’t know that he was a father—or that the girl he loved was dead. It was a huge, burning secret he deserved to know, but again, I was struck by the poor timing. I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up in front of Marcus. And it didn’t really seem right to mention it as a “by the way” en route to interrogating Alicia.

“It’s a long story,” I said simply. “I’ll fill you in later.”

“Fair enough,” said Neil. Guardians were used to secrets and a need-to-know basis. He could take it stride—though he also didn’t realize that this secret hit so close to home.

I told Marcus to keep me updated as soon as he learned anything about Sydney and Eddie’s progress at the Warriors’ compound. After stocking up on a few snacks from Howie’s kitchen—though honestly, I was kind of sick of it all by now—Neil and I headed back to the civilization of Palm Springs. Along the way, he mentioned that he’d heard Nina was sick, and I again had to tread very carefully about the extent of my involvement. Naturally, Neil also wanted to know if I’d obtained any news of Olive, especially in light of her sister’s condition. I played it vague, saying I hadn’t been able to make contact, hating that I had to lie to him. Disappointment showed in his face, and I realized I was going to hate having to tell him the truth as well—at least about Olive.

I soon learned from him that we were going to the home of Maude, the Stelle’s leader. Not only was she not under Alchemist surveillance, she also apparently had a bona fide dungeon in her house. At least that’s what Inez told me when we arrived.

Maude, overhearing as she passed by, rolled her eyes. “It’s not a dungeon, Inez. It’s a wine cellar.”

We were standing in Maude’s living room, waiting for a few other coven members to show up. Inez sniffed in contempt. “It’s underground and has stone walls,” she retorted. “And it doesn’t have wine racks.”

“I haven’t gotten them installed yet,” explained Maude.

“I just call it like I see it,” said Inez.

Jackie strolled over to us. “Well, regardless, it’s incredibly useful right now. Underground rooms are excellent for containing magic. We can create a circle to prevent Alicia from attempting anything nefarious, and then you can work your own brand of magic, Adrian. Ah, here are the others.”

A few more newcomers entered, bringing the total number of witches up to fourteen. According to Jackie, there were a bunch of sacred numbers in spell craft, but to offer the best protection against Alicia, a circle of thirteen was needed, as well as someone to work other spells. After two days in that frozen form, Alicia was probably weakened, but after all the times she’d surprised us, no one wanted to take any chances.

With everyone here, we headed down into the basement. There, I found Alicia frozen in exactly the same form she’d been at Wolfe’s. I also found myself agreeing with Inez.

“It is kind of dungeon-esque,” I murmured to her. “Who uses stone this dark for a wine cellar? I’d expect something more Tuscan.”

“I know, right?” she whispered back.

Thirteen witches linked hands and formed a circle of protection around Alicia, chanting spells that would supposedly keep all human magic locked inside. Maude, separate from the circle, then used the same herbs and incantations that had freed Eddie at Wolfe’s compound. Staring at Alicia, frozen in the awkward defensive position Sydney had trapped her in, I couldn’t help but suddenly share in the witches’ initial reluctance to free her. She’d tried to kill Sydney, steal Jackie’s power, and left Jackie’s sister in a coma. She’d also captured Jill and turned her over to the Warriors—simply as a way to get back at Sydney. Really, Alicia deserved to be left a statue forever.

But then we’d never get answers.

Maude’s spell completed, and as it did, she slipped outside the circle to stand by Neil and me. We watched as Alicia came to life again, her legs buckling as the muscles suddenly had to learn to function once more. Yet even as she crumpled to the floor, a snarl crossed her features, and she held up her hand, sending bolts of light out from her. They hit an invisible wall formed by the thirteen and dissipated harmlessly.

“You can’t hold me forever,” she cried. “And as soon as I’m free again, I’ll make all of you pay!”

I leaned toward Maude, pitching my voice low. “She has a point. What will happen to her?”

“Don’t worry,” she murmured back. “Just as you Moroi have your own prisons, we have ours.” Clearing her throat, she stepped forward so that she remained outside of the circle but was still in Alicia’s field of vision. “What happens to you now will depend on how cooperative you are, Alicia. We can make life comfortable as you’re brought to justice—or very unpleasant.”

Alicia expressed what she thought of that by sending a fireball in Maude’s direction. It too was absorbed, and I thought she should consider herself lucky their protective wall didn’t bounce things back to her.

Maude crossed her arms and regarded Alicia unflinchingly. “We understand you played a part in the disappearance of a young Moroi girl. Tell us where you took her.”

For a moment, Alicia looked surprised at the question until she noticed me standing off to the side of the circle. She chuckled. “Where is Sydney? Is she too afraid to face me again?”

Don’t let her talk to you like that! ordered Aunt Tatiana.

With a small amount of spirit telekinesis, I made Alicia’s arms suddenly snap against her sides, as though she were in a straightjacket. Her eyes widened in astonishment when she tried to lift them and couldn’t. “Sydney has more skill and integrity than you ever will,” I said. “You’re lucky you won’t have to face her again. Now tell us where you took Jill. We know she’s with the Warriors. Where?”

“Tell us, and we’ll send you off to your trial as a well-treated prisoner,” added Maude. “Otherwise, we’ll put you back in that inert state.”

“It’ll take more than threats or parlor tricks to get me to tell you where she’s at.” Alicia shot me a malicious grin. “You might have caught me, but that’s one battle Sydney won’t win. You’ll never see that Moroi brat again.”

If she hurts Jill . . . Aunt Tatiana didn’t finish her threat, and she didn’t need to. Anger—fueled by my raging aunt—welled up in me, and I forcibly pushed it down, needing a cool head. “Enough games,” I said. I released her arms and redirected my spirit into compulsion. “Tell us where Jill is.”

Alicia’s eyes started to glaze over, her jaw going slack . . . then, amazingly, she shook it off. Her features hardened again. “I’m not that easy to control,” she said.

“She may have bolstered herself with potions,” Maude told me. Jackie had hinted at this as well, that Alicia might very well have given herself all sorts of magical protection, including against compulsion. “It won’t last forever. A few more days, and it should all be gone.”

I gritted my teeth and upped my spirit use. “No. We’re getting answers today.” With renewed magic, I focused on Alicia again. “Tell us where Jill is.”

Again, Alicia looked defiant, but this time she had more difficulty standing against me. “With . . . with the Warriors.”

“We know that,” I said. “Where? Where are they holding her?”

Trying to compel her was like trying to open a door that someone was pushing back against on the other side. Both of us were throwing all we had into it. Her will and whatever potion she’d taken were strong, but I believed my powers were stronger. Again, I increased the amount of spirit channeling through me, knowing that an average-willed person would have been bent to my will by now. Sydney’s warnings echoed back to me, about not going crazy with spirit use, but I pushed on anyway. We needed answers.

“Where are the Warriors holding her?” I demanded.

Alicia was visibly sweating now, fighting hard against my power. “In . . . in Utah,” she blurted out at last. “St. George. A compound there. But you’ll never get to her! You’ll never get through to her!”

“Why?” I asked, pushing hard with the compulsion. “Why?”

“Too . . . many . . . obstacles,” she said, pale and trembling.

“Tell me everything,” I ordered.

She remained obstinate, and I was ready to compel her even more. One tidal wave of spirit, and I was certain I could have her on her hands and knees, begging to tell me all she knew.

Do it! ordered Aunt Tatiana. Make her pay! Make her your slave!

I was ready to . . . but then, unexpectedly, an image of last night’s dream meeting with Sonya came back to me. Or, more specifically, an image of Nina in her cell came back to me. I recalled Sonya’s words about the scars of spirit use and remembered my promise to Sydney to keep things in check.

Sydney couldn’t have foreseen this, Aunt Tatiana argued. You’re stronger than Nina. You won’t end up like her.

No, I told that phantom voice. I won’t risk it. I’ll keep my word to Sydney.

With great reluctance, I released the compulsion and spirit directed against Alicia. She slumped, this time simply from mental exhaustion.

“That’s enough for us to go on,” I said. “We can find this place in St. George.” Whether it would be through Sydney’s sleuthing, the Alchemists giving in and helping, or even Sabrina’s insight, it couldn’t be that difficult now that we had a city. I would’ve liked to know more about the “obstacles” in place, but I wasn’t going to burn myself out when she probably just meant crazy Warriors and their weapons. The guardians could handle that. They had before.

“Do you need anything else from her before we freeze her up again?” asked Maude.

Alicia’s eyes went wide. “You said I wouldn’t be frozen if I cooperated!”

“That wasn’t exactly cooperating,” replied Maude coolly.

I shook my head. “That should be enough. If we need more, I’ll let you know.”

“No!” shouted Alicia. Fireballs formed in her hands, and she began futilely hurling them at the invisible barrier. “I won’t go into that state again! I won’t! You can’t—”

But Maude was casting beside me, and a minute later, Alicia was frozen in place again, her fireball-hurling stance even more ridiculous than her last one. The witches disbanded the circle, and Jackie came over to speak to me.

“Are you sure you got everything you needed from her? I felt you wanted to ask her more.”

“I did,” I admitted. “But her defenses were strong. I’ll pass the St. George information to my contacts and see what they can find out.”

Jackie nodded. “Very well then. I also spoke to Maude. If you’d like, you’re welcome to stay here at her house until the next move in this plan. It’ll put you a little closer to the action, and from what I hear, she has a lot more room than the last place you were staying.”

“Hopefully more produce too,” I added. I glanced at Neil. “You’re the security expert. Is it safe?”

“I believe so,” he said after a moment’s thought. “No one followed any of us. And if it’s fine with her, I’ll stay on too to look after you.”

We thanked Maude for her hospitality and stayed out of the way as the witches wrapped things up. Apparently, Alicia would eventually be transported to a magical trial and prison, but for now, she’d remain in the wine cellar/dungeon. Neil and I, thankfully, had guest rooms upstairs. I sent the St. George info to Marcus and then finally decided it was time to break some hard news, since it looked like Neil and I would be waiting around together for a while.

“Neil . . .” I began, when we were alone in his room. “We need to talk.”

“Sure,” he said easily. “Is it about Jill?”

“Nothing at all to do with her, actually.” I gestured to the bed. “Maybe you should sit down.”

Neil frowned, alerted by my tone. “I’ll stand, thanks. Just tell me what’s happening.”

I crossed my arms, as though I could protect myself from all the anguish I was about to dredge up. Until then, I didn’t realize how I’d been fighting to keep it from crushing me.

“Neil, there’s no easy way to say this . . . and I’m so sorry to be the one telling you . . . but Olive died two nights ago.”

Neil made no sound at all, but his face went white, so white I thought he might pass out. “No,” he said at last, after several long moments of agonized silence. “No, that’s impossible.” He shook his head adamantly. “No.”

“A Strigoi killed her,” I said. Whereas I’d initially struggled to find words, I now suddenly found myself rushing forward, unable to stop. “She was staying in a dhampir commune. In Michigan. A small group of Strigoi attacked it, breaking through the wards somehow. We think they got a human to pull one of the warding stakes up. Regardless, they got in, and Olive was caught when she was running away and—”

“Wait,” interrupted Neil. In the blink of an eye, his stricken face had turned hard and skeptical. “Olive wouldn’t run away from a fight. Certainly not from a group of Strigoi. She of all people would stand her ground.”

That terrible agony ripped through me. “She was running away to protect her baby. Declan—the baby my mom is taking care of.”

Another heavy silence filled the room as the weight of those words sunk in. I wished then that I’d waited for Sydney. She would have done a more eloquent job explaining this.

“And it wasn’t even the Strigoi she was running from,” I said, when Neil only continued to stare at me in shock. “Neil, the baby, Declan . . . he’s yours. Your son. You’re the father.”

Disbelief returned to Neil’s features, but this time it was more stunned than angry. “We both know that’s not true,” he said. “Was that . . . was that why she ran? Did she think I’d judge her? We had no real commitments, not truly. I was crazy about her, it’s true, but there was just—”

“The one time, I know,” I finished. “But that’s all it took. Somehow, something happened to her when she was restored from being a Strigoi that let her conceive a baby with you. I didn’t believe it either until I looked at him more closely with my magic. There’s definitely a spiritual, I don’t know, residue on him. It’s crazy, I know. But he is yours.”

Neil sat on the bed, so still he could have been a statue. I understood his grief and sat beside him. “Neil, I’m so sorry.”

“Olive’s dead,” he said numbly. He looked up at me and blinked back tears. “If what you’re saying is true—if somehow, through some sort of magic, that baby is mine, then why didn’t Olive tell me herself? Why’d she run away?”

“Because she was afraid of that magic,” I said. “And she was afraid of what people would say or do—both the Moroi and the Alchemists. She hid him to protect him from being treated like a freak of nature, and I promised to help protect him.”

Neil stared blankly for several moments, and then I think hearing about protection woke up his better instincts. “Who knows? Who knows about D-Declan?”

“About his true nature?” I gestured to myself. “Only me and Sydney. Rose and Dimitri know he’s Olive’s, as do a couple of people back at the commune. That’s it. We thought it was safest that as few people know about him as possible. If they knew that somehow, probably through Olive being restored, dhampirs could have kids . . . well, it’d shock a lot of people. Some would be happy, some curious. They’d all want to learn more about him, and that’s not what Olive wanted.”

Neil remained silent and nearly as motionless as Alicia had been.

“Neil?” I said, a little unnerved by his shell-shocked state. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll help you. We’ll make sure Olive’s wishes are honored—that Declan lives a happy, normal life. Once this business with Jill is over, we’ll get you and Declan together and—”

“No,” said Neil, suddenly coming to life. He looked up at me sharply, and though his expression was hard, there was a terrible sadness in his voice. “I can’t ever see him again.”