Bloodlines

I took the book from her and scanned it. “Where am I going to get nettle?”

“Ask Mr. Carnes. He has a garden outside his classroom. I’m sure you can buy the rest. And you know, you can give me receipts. I’ll pay you back whenever I send you out to get something. You must’ve spent a fortune on coffee.”

I felt a little better when I saw how random the ingredients were. Nettle. Agate. A piece of silk. There wasn’t really even anything flammable. This was nonsense. With a nod, I told her I’d start soon.

In the meantime, I typed up an official letter to Amberwood on Keith’s behalf. It explained that our religious beliefs required family church attendance twice a week and that Jill needed to be excused from her punishment during those times. It also promised that Jill would check in with Mrs. Weathers both before and after the family trips. When I finished, I was rather pleased with my work and felt that I’d made Keith sound far more eloquent than he deserved.

I called him up when school ended and gave a brief rundown on what had happened with Jill. Naturally, I got the blame.

“You’re supposed to keep an eye on her, Sydney!” Keith exclaimed.

“I’m also supposed to be undercover as a student here, and I can’t be with her every second of the day.” It wasn’t worth mentioning that I’d actually been out with Adrian when Jill had run away—not that Keith could do any more to me. He’d already done his damage.

“And so I have to suffer the consequences,” he said in a world-weary voice. “I’m the one who gets put out for your incompetence.”

“Put out? You don’t have to do anything except sign the letter I wrote for you. Are you home right now? Or will you be? I’ll drive it over to you.”

I figured he’d jump all over the offer, seeing how annoyed he seemed to be by the matter. So, it was a surprise when he said, “No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll come to you.”

“It’s not a problem. I can be at your place in less than ten minutes.” I didn’t want him to have any more reason than necessary to go on and on about how I was inconveniencing him—or complain to the Alchemists.

“No,” said Keith, with surprising intensity. “I’ll come to you. I’m leaving right now. Meet you at the main office?”

“Okay,” I said, totally puzzled at this change of heart. Did he want to check up on me or something? Demand an inspection? “See you soon.”

I was already on Central Campus, so it took no time at all to reach the main office. I sat outside on an ornate stone bench with a good view of the visitors parking lot and waited. It was hot out, as usual, but being in the shade actually made it pretty pleasant. The bench was situated in a little clearing filled with flowering plants and a sign that read The Kelly Hayes Memorial Garden. It looked new.

“Hey, Sydney!”

Kristin and Julia were walking out of the building and waved at me. They came and sat down beside me to ask what I was doing.

“I’m waiting for my brother.”

“Is he cute?” asked Kristin hopefully.

“No,” I said. “Not at all.”

“Yes, he is,” countered Julia. “I saw him in your dorm last weekend. When you all went out for lunch.”

It took me a second to realize she meant Adrian. “Oh. Different brother. They don’t have a lot in common.”

“Is it true your sister’s in big trouble?” asked Julia.

I shrugged. “Only a little trouble. She can’t leave campus, except for family stuff. It could be worse. Although . . . it did cost her a modeling job, so she’s sad about that.”

“Modeling for who?” asked Kristin.

I racked my brain. “Lia DiStefano. There’s some show in two weeks, and she wanted Jill to walk in it. But Jill can’t practice because she has to stay here.”

Their eyes went wide.

“Lia’s clothes are amazing!” said Julia. “Jill has to do it. She might get free stuff.”

“I told you. She can’t.”

Kristin tilted her head thoughtfully. “But what if it was for school? Like some kind of career or vocational thing?” She turned to Julia. “Is there still a sewing club?”

“I think so,” said Julia, nodding eagerly. “That’s a good idea. Does Jill have an activity?” Along with a sport, Amberwood also required its well-rounded students to participate in hobbies and activities outside of class. “There’s a sewing club she could join . . . and I bet she could get working with Lia counted as some kind of special research.”

In attempting to fix a loose thread on her cardigan the other day, Jill had nearly unraveled the entire sweater. “I don’t think that’s really Jill’s thing.”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Kristin. “Most of the people in it can’t sew anyway. But every year, the club volunteers with local designers. Miss Yamani would totally let walking in the show count as volunteering. She loves Lia DiStefano.”

“And they’d have to let her go,” said Julia, face full of triumph. “Because it’d be for school.”

“Interesting,” I said, wondering if there was any chance of it working. “I’ll tell Jill.” A familiar blue car pulled into the driveway, and I stood up. “There he is.”

Keith parked and got out, scanning around for me. Kristin gave a small sound of approval. “He’s not bad.”

“Believe me,” I said, walking forward. “You want nothing to do with him.”

Keith gave the girls what was probably supposed to be a charming smile and even winked at them. The instant they were gone, his smile dropped. Impatience radiated off of him, and it was a wonder he didn’t tap his foot.

“Let’s make this fast,” he said.

“If you’re in such a rush, you should have just let me come by when you had more time.” I took out a binder containing the letter and handed it over with a pen. Keith signed without even looking at it and handed it back.

“Need anything else?” he asked.

“No.”

“Don’t mess up again,” he said, opening the car door. “I don’t have time to keep covering for you.”

“Does it matter?” I challenged him. “You’ve already done your best to get rid of me.”

He gave me a cold smile. “You shouldn’t have crossed me. Not now, not back then.” With a wink, he turned around and began to leave. I stared, unable to believe the audacity. It was the first time he’d directly referenced what went down years ago.

“Well, that’s the thing,” I shouted at his retreating figure. “I didn’t cross you back then. You got off easy. It’s not going to happen again. You think I’m worried about you? I’m the one you need to be scared of.”

Keith came to a halt and then slowly turned around, his face awash with disbelief. I didn’t blame him. I was kind of surprised myself. I couldn’t ever remember a time I’d so openly countered someone in a higher position of authority, certainly not someone who had so much power to affect my situation.

“Watch it,” he said at last. “I can make your life miserable.”

I gave him an icy smile. “You already have, and that’s why I’ve got the advantage. You’ve done your worst— but you haven’t seen what I can do yet.”

It was a big bluff on my part, especially since I was pretty sure he could still do worse. For all I knew, he could get Zoe out here tomorrow. He could get me sent to a re-education center in a heartbeat.

But if I went down? So would he.

He stared at me for a few moments, at a loss. I don’t know if I actually scared him or if he decided not to dignify me with an answer, but he finally turned and left for good. Furious, I went inside to deliver the letter to the office. The front desk secretary, Mrs. Dawson, stamped it and then made a copy for me to give to Mrs. Weathers. As she handed it to me, I asked, “Who’s Kelly Hayes?”

Mrs. Dawson’s usually dimpled face grew sad. “That poor girl. She was a student here a few years ago.”

My memory clicked. “Is she the one Mrs. Weathers mentioned? Who went missing?”