The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3)(101)

That same guilt I always felt about her helping me returned. I opened the small envelope and found a silver star pendant set with peridots. I gasped.

I had seen this charm before, this powerful and painstakingly made charm that could allegedly hide strong magical ability.

I had seen it around Alicia's neck.

Chapter Twenty-Three

FOR A MOMENT, I THOUGHT it had to be a coincidence. After all, what was so special about a peridot star? For all I knew, Alicia might have been born in August and was just sporting her birthstone among that mess of necklaces she always wore. And yet, if there was one thing I believed more than ever, it was Sonya's adage that there were no coincidences in the world of the supernatural.

I sank to the floor and tried to reason my way through things. If the charm Alicia had worn was like this one, then it meant she too was a strong magic user trying to mask her abilities. Did she know about Veronica? Was Alicia trying to protect herself? If so, then it seemed like she wouldn't have been so casual about Veronica staying at the inn. So, that meant either Alicia didn't know about Veronica's true nature - again, a suspicious coincidence - or that Alicia was covering for Veronica.

Could Alicia be in league with Veronica?

That seemed the likeliest answer to me. Although Veronica apparently sought out young, powerful magic users, it was totally possible that she'd seen the advantage of having one as an assistant. And, as we'd observed, Veronica had plenty of other victims to choose from. Alicia could therefore help and cover up Veronica's nefarious plans - like when a curious couple came asking questions.

I groaned. Alicia had been playing us from the beginning. From the instant we'd stepped through her door with stories about our anniversary and "friend" Veronica, she'd known we were lying. She'd known we weren't actually friends with Veronica, and she might have been strong enough to fight Adrian's compulsion a little. She'd gone along with everything - even being so helpful as to call me when Veronica had shown up again. I had no idea now what was true, if Veronica had ever left in the first place or returned from being gone. I did, however, have a sinking suspicion that my car wasn't the only one she'd incapacitated.

I could understand if she'd used the cross to find me, but how had she initially located the Mustang? I racked my brain for any identifying information. Adrian's spirit magic should have muddled our appearances, covering up any connection to us. Then I knew. Alicia had walked us out and admired the Mustang. A clever person - someone who was already on high alert because of our visit - could've made note of the license plate and used it to track down where Adrian lived.

But why slash the tires? To delay us, I realized. That was the night Lynne had been attacked. And we had arrived too late to warn her.

The more I began to sift through the events of the last few weeks, the more I began to think we had been very, very careless. We'd thought we were being so cautious about concealing ourselves from Veronica. No one, not even Ms. Terwilliger, had considered that she might have an accomplice we also had to watch out for. And the dreams . . . those had started the day Adrian and I had been on the velvet bed. The day my garnet had slipped and had possibly been enough for Alicia to sense a magic user in the inn.

Which brought me back to the present. Ms. Terwilliger. I had to tell her what I'd found. I called for a third time. Still no answer. Although I often had images of Ms. Terwilliger conducting late-night rituals, it was entirely reasonable that she'd be in bed right now. Was this the kind of thing that could wait until morning?

No, I decided on the spot. No, it wasn't. We were dealing with dangerous, violent magic users - and my car had just been attacked. Something might be happening as I stood there, trying to decide. I would have to wake her up . . . provided I could get to her.

It took only a moment to make my next decision. I called Adrian.

He answered on the first ring but sounded wary, which I couldn't blame him for after what I'd done earlier. "Hello?"

I prayed he was the noble guy I thought he was. "Adrian, I know things are bad between us, and maybe I have no right to ask, but I need a favor. It's about Veronica."

There was no hesitation. "What do you need?"

"Can you come over to Amberwood? I need you to help me break curfew and escape my dorm."

There were a few moments of silence. "Sage, I've been waiting two months to hear you say those words. You want me to bring a ladder?"

The plan was already unfolding in my head. The security guards that patrolled at night would have eyes on the student parking lot, but the back property would be relatively unguarded.

"I'll get myself out of the building. If you come up the main road that leads to Amberwood and then go past the driveway you'll see a little service road that runs up a hill and goes behind my dorm. Park there near the utility shed, and I'll meet you as soon as I get out."

When he spoke again, his earlier levity was gone. "I'd really like to believe this is some awesome midnight adventure, but it's not, is it? Something's gone really wrong."

"Very wrong," I agreed. "I'll explain in the car."

I quickly changed into clean jeans and a T-shirt, adding a light suede jacket against the evening chill. To be safe, I also decided to pack my bag with a few supplies and bring it along. If all went well, I'd simply be warning Ms. Terwilliger tonight. But with the way things had been going lately, I couldn't presume anything would be simple. Bringing the suitcase this time would be unwieldy, so I had to make a few quick decisions about chemicals and magical components. I tossed some in the bag and stuffed others in my jeans and coat pockets.