The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2)(82)

"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?"

"Do you know how weird it is to be repeating my senior year?" asked Eddie. "I can't even blow it off either. I have to get decent grades to stay here." I grinned. "Hey, all knowledge is worth having."

He tapped the papers in front of him. "Yeah? You got any knowledge on the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in fiction?"

"Edith Wharton," I said automatically. He scrawled something onto his paper, and I turned to Jill. "How are things with you? Where's Micah?"

Jill had her chin propped in her hand and was gazing at me with the weirdest look. It was almost... dreamy. It took her a few moments to snap out of her daze and respond. The dreamy look became embarrassed and then dismayed. She glanced down at her book.

"Sorry. I was just thinking how good you look in taupe. What did you ask?"

"Micah?" I prompted.

"Oh. Right. He's got... stuff to do."

I was pretty sure that was the shortest explanation she'd ever given me. I tried to remember what I'd last heard on their status. "You guys patched things up, right?"

"Yeah. I guess. He understood about Thanksgiving." She brightened. "Hey, Eddie and I were talking about that. Do you think we could all have a big family-style Thanksgiving at Clarence's? Do you think he'd mind? We could all help, and it'd be lots of fun. I mean, aside from the cover, we really are like a family. Eddie says he can make the turkey."