The Golden Lily

user-felt a hum of earth magic. Just like how Adrian and I felt spirit in Dimitri’s blood. The technician had other types of magic users examine your sample, and all four basic elements were detected.”

That panic returned. She had me on an emotional roller coaster, one that left me nauseous. “Magic… in my blood?” A moment later, I understood. “Of course there is,” I said slowly. I touched my cheek. “The tattoo has vampire blood and magic in it. That’s what it is. There are different degrees of charms in it from different users. That would show up in my blood.”

I shivered. Even with a logical explanation, it was a scary thing accepting that there was magic in my blood. Ms. Terwilliger’s spells were still anathema to me, but at least there was some comfort in knowing they drew magic from outside of me. But knowing I had something internal? That was terrifying. And yet, I couldn’t be surprised at this finding, not with the tattoo. Sonya nodded along. “Yes, of course. But there must be something about that combination that’s repulsive to Strigoi. It may be the key to all of our work!”

To my surprise, Adrian took a few steps toward me, and there was a tension in his stance that was fiercely protective.

“So you know Alchemist blood has magic in it,” he said. “That’s no surprise. Case closed. What do you want from her now?”

“Another sample to start,” said Sonya eagerly. “There’s none left in the original vial I took, once all the testing was done. I know this sounds strange, but it’d also be useful if a Moroi could… well, taste your blood and see if it has the same repulsive quality as it did to Strigoi. Fresh blood would be ideal, but even I’m not deluded enough to ask you to submit to a feeding. We should simply be able to use your sample and-”

“No,” I said. I stumbled backward, horrified. “Absolutely not. Whether it’s from a neck or a vial, there’s no way I’m giving my blood for anyone to taste. Do you know how wrong that is? I know you do it all the time with feeders, but I’m not one of them. I should never have given you the first sample. You don’t need me for any of this. Spirit’s the key. Lee’s proof that former Strigoi are the ones you need to examine.”

Sonya wasn’t cowed by my outburst. She pushed forward, though her tone was gentler. “I understand your fear, but think of the applications! If something in your blood makes you resistant to Strigoi, then you could save countless lives.”

“Alchemists aren’t resistant,” I said. “That tattoo isn’t protecting us, if that’s what you’re getting at. Do you think that in all our history, there haven’t been Alchemists who were turned Strigoi?”

“Well, of course,” she said. Her words were hesitant, encouraging me.

“So, the magic you sensed in me is irrelevant. It’s just the tattoo. All Alchemists have it. Maybe ours tastes bad, but Alchemist blood has nothing to do with Strigoi turning. It still happens to us.” I was rambling but didn’t care.

Sonya grew perplexed, her mind running through the implications of this news. “But do all Alchemists have bad-tasting blood? If so, how would a Strigoi be able to drain them?”

“Maybe it varies by person,” I said. “Or maybe some Strigoi are tougher than others. I don’t know. Regardless, we aren’t the ones to focus on.”

“Unless there’s just something special about you,” mused Sonya.

No. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be scrutinized, locked behind glass like Keith. I couldn’t be. I prayed she wouldn’t see how scared I was.

“There’s plenty that’s special about her,” said Adrian dryly. “But her blood’s not up for dispute. Why are you pushing this again after last time?”

Sonya glared at Adrian. “I’m not doing this for selfish reasons, you know that! I want to save our people. I want to save all our people. I don’t want to see any new Strigoi added to the world. No one should live like that.” A haunted look shone in her eyes, as a memory seized her. “That kind of bloodlust and complete lack of empathy for any other living creature… no one can imagine what it’s like. You’re hollow. A walking nightmare, and yet… you just don’t care…”

“Funny attitude,” said Adrian, “seeing as you purposely chose to become one.”

Sonya paled, and I felt torn. I appreciated Adrian’s defense but also pitied Sonya. She’d explained to me in the past about how spirit’s instability-the same instability Adrian feared-had driven her to turning Strigoi. Looking back at her decision, she regretted it more than anything else in her life. She would’ve submitted herself for punishment, but no court knew how to handle her situation.

“Doing that was a mistake,” she said coldly. “One I’ve learned from-which is why I’m so anxious to save others from that fate.”

“Well, then find a way to do it without dragging Sydney into it! You know how she feels about us…” Adrian faltered as he glanced at me, and I was surprised to almost detect bitterness in his voice. “You know how the Alchemists feel. Keep involving her, and you’ll get her in trouble with them. And if you’re so convinced they’ve got the answers, ask them for volunteers and do experiments that way.”

“I’d help with that,” I offered. “Getting authorized subjects for you. I’d talk to my superiors. They’d like to see an end to Strigoi as much as you.”

When Sonya didn’t answer right away, Adrian guessed why. “She knows they’d say no, Sage. That’s why she’s appealing to you directly and why they didn’t send your blood to an Alchemist lab.”

“Why can’t you both see how important this is?” asked Sonya, a desperate longing to do good in her eyes. It made me feel guilty and conflicted.

“I do,” said Adrian. “You think I don’t want to see every single one of those bastard Strigoi wiped from the face of the earth? I do! But not at the cost of forcing people to do things they don’t want to.”

Sonya gave him a long, level look. “I think you’re letting your personal feelings interfere with this. Your emotions are going to ruin our research.”

He smiled. “Well, then. Be glad you’ll be free of me in two days.”

Sonya glanced between the two of us, looked like she was about to protest, and then thought better of it. Without another word she left, her face defeated. Again, I felt torn. In theory, I knew she was right… but my gut just couldn’t agree.

“I didn’t mean to upset her,” I said at last.

Adrian’s face showed no sympathy. “She shouldn’t have upset you. She knows how you feel.”

I still felt a little bad, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I gave this, I’d be asked to give more and more. I recalled the day Eddie and Dimitri had been coated in spirit magic. No way could I risk getting involved to that level. I was already pushing my limits too far. “I know… but it’s hard,” I said. “I like Sonya. I gave her the first vial, so I can see why she thought the second would be easy.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “No is no.”

“I really will mention it to the Alchemists,” I said. “Maybe they’ll want to help.” I didn’t think I’d get in too much trouble for the first vial. The Alchemists endorsed the initial experiments after all, and I’d probably get points for standing up to vampire peer pressure for the other sample.

He shrugged. “If they do, great. If not, it’s not your responsibility.”

“Well, thanks for gallantly coming to my defense again,” I teased. “Maybe you’d be more into Wolfe’s training if you got to protect someone else instead of yourself?”

The earlier smile returned. “I just don’t like seeing people bullied, that’s all.”

“But you should come back to Wolfe with me,” I urged. “You need a chance to try to get at me.”

Like that, he was serious again. He looked away. “I don’t know, Sage. We’ll see. For now, we’ll just focus on the driving-when you can get away from your boyfriend, of course.”

I left shortly after that, still confused about his weird behavior. Was that some of spirit’s crazy effects on the mind? One minute, he was brave and defensive. The next, he was down and obstinate. Maybe there was a pattern or some type of reasoning behind it all, but it was beyond my analytical abilities.

Back at Amberwood, I immediately headed for the library to get a book for my English class. Ms. Terwilliger had lightened up on my usual work so that I could “devote more time” to crafting her spells. Since her independent study-which was supposed to be my easy elective-took up more time than my other classes, it was refreshing to focus on something else for a change. As I was leaving the British Lit section, I caught sight of Jill and Eddie studying together at a table. That wasn’t weird, exactly. What was weird was that Micah wasn’t with them.

“Hey, guys,” I said, slipping into a seat. “Hard at work?”