The Golden Lily Chapter 16

I WASTED NO cadence in getting the group together. This was big. I whitewash didnt get the level of danger we were facing, merely I ref apply to charter two put on the lines. I chose Clarences house as a meeting spot, estimateing as the searchers didnt get or so it yet. It still do me nervous. I wouldve been nervous steady if wed been meeting in an Alchemist bunker.And obviously, hunters wasnt even the remunerate term. According to their low-quality nerve tract, they c altogethered themselves The Warriors of Light. I wasnt sure they deserved that fancy title, especi each(prenominal)y since in their mission statement, they spelled abyss as abiss. The cusp was very very sparse, simply stating that in that respect was an evil walking among humanity and that the Warriors were the force there to destroy it. They urged their fellow homo to be ready and stay pure. None of the vampires were mentioned by name, for which I was glad.The pamphlet also didnt mention frequentl y roughly any of the shared history they claimed to subscribe with the Alchemists.Before we went to Clarences, Eddie search Latte for any sort of bring in device. The very idea creeped me out, the same way being watched at Adrians did. in that location was a touch of violation to it altogether. It was only my lack of faith in their technical schoolnology that make me feel roughlywhat better.It seems un samely theyd be that advanced, I t over-the-hill Eddie, as he wiggled under the car. I mean, that pamphlet intented like it had been made on a 1980s copy machine. I dont recognise if thats because theyve had the pamphlets sitting almost that yearn or if thats the actual machine they still use tho reckonless, they dont scream high tech to me.Maybe, he agreed, voice slightly muffled. save we cant take any chances. We dont know what theyre capable of. And for all we know, theyre essay to hook up with the Alchemists to score technology.Chills ran through me. It was an outr ageous nonion that the Alchemists and this violent fringe group could be related. It had been crazy when Adrian and I had speculated almost it and was hard to accept even in the brass of mounting evidence. At least now I had enough information to take to my superiors without being ridiculed. Even though Id neer heard of hunters like this, it seemed plausible that some(a)where, at some point, theyd act to connect with my organization. Hopefully someone in the Alchemists could help.Eddie scooted out from under Latte. Youre clean. Lets head out. Jill and Angeline were waiting nearby, both tense and anxious. Jill gave Eddie an admiring smile. I didnt know you knew how to do any of this. I never would fork up even thought intimately it.He wiped sweat off his forehead. You thought guardian training was all about hitting and kicking?She flushed. Pretty much, yeah.Can you tell me about some of this stuff some beat? asked Angeline. Seems like I should know it.Sure, say Eddie, sound ing like he meant it. She beamed.Hed been much easier around her ever since her attitude had be surface more than(prenominal) serious and restrained. I think some of that reasoned behavior had played a role in me getting permission for her to join us tonight. She was still technically on suspension, but Id managed to get a special exemption on the one thousand of our familys so-called religion. Id utilise a similar excuse when Jill had been suspended last month, in coiffure to take her to feedings. Even still, we were on very strict societys with Angeline tonight. She couldnt be out for more than two hours, and the price was adding an particular day of suspension to her sentence.We took an abnormal route to Clarences, and Eddie watched behind us carefully, looking for any signs of pursuit. He tried to explain some of the things I expected to watch for when I was on my own. I was so nervous, I hardly heard. After a tense ride, we made it safely to Clarences. There, we found A drian already waiting for us. Dimitri had apparently been downtown earlier and picked Adrian up no doubt taking all the same precautions Eddie had for travel.Id given Eddie and Dimitri some of the info on the hunters, but everyone else required a more thorough explanation. We gathered in our mutual spot, the formal living populate, and Dimitri paced around the room, bracing for an attack at any moment. Clarence looked on from his chair with that common distracted gaze. When I held up the pamphlet, however, he came to life.Thats them he cried. I thought he might rattling spring up from the chair and rip the pamphlet from my workforce. Those are their symbols Most of the same alchemical symbols that had been on the sword were strewn across the pamphlets front. That circle. I remember that circle.The gold symbol, I confirmed. Or, I guess in their case, the sunlight symbol since theyre so obsessed with light and dark.Clarence looked around frantically. Theyre masking We comport to get out of here. I came to this city to escape them, but theyve found me. We carry no time. Wheres Dorothy? Wheres Lee? I must impartMr. Donahue, I verbalize, in as a gentle a tone as I could manage, they dont know youre here. Youre safe. I didnt know if I believed that and hoped I was convincing.Shes decent, verbalize Dimitri. And even if they did, you know I wouldnt let them abide you. There was such confidence and strength in the way Dimitri spoke that I had a feeling that wed believe him even if a group of Strigoi were invading, and he give tongue to, Its fine, youre safe.If what youre saying is true, said Sonya, Im the one thats in danger. She seemed much calmer than I would be in that situation.Theyre not going to hurt you either, said Dimitri sharply. Especially if you dont leave this house.The interrogation she began. is nothing compared to your safety, he finished. There was a look in his eyes that said he would live no arguments. You need to get back to Cou rt. You were planning on it anyway.Just acquit the trip early.Sonya didnt look happy about that. So I leave the rest of you in danger?Maybe we arent, said Eddie, though the tension in his body said otherwise. From what Sydney said and their mini-manifesto their focus seems to be Strigoi, not Moroi. He glanced over at Jill. Not that we can let our guard down. If theyve irrational Sonya for a Strigoi, who knows what other fury they might do? Dont worry. I wont let them near you. Jill looked ready to swoon.Thats a good idea, I said. They still think the Moroi are a threat but not as much as the Strigoi. flesh of like the Alchemists, said Adrian. He was sitting in a corner armchair and had been quiet this whole time. I hadnt seen him since the night of the dance or had any communication with him, which was odd. Even when he wasnt sending me pathetic e-mails about the experiments, he almost always had some witty quip to pass along.True, I admitted, with a smile. barely were not try ing to kill any of you. Not even Strigoi.And theres the problem, said Dimitri. These warriors are convinced Sonya used to be a Strigoi and is using some trick to disguise herself.Maybe they have some tracking or inventory system, Sonya mused. They keep tabs on various Strigoi in the country and then try to hunt them down.And yet they didnt know about you, I pointed out to Dimitri. His face stayed neutral, but I knew it was hard for him to be reminded of his Strigoi days. And from what I know you were much more of a, um, notable figure than Sonya. Hed essentially been a Strigoi mobster.So, if youre off their radar, they in all likelihood dont have an international presence or at least not a Russian one.Angeline leaned forward, hands clasped, and regarded Clarence with a smile sweet enough to justify her name. How do you know about them? How did you first ravel out into them? At first, he looked too terrified to answer, but I think her kindly attitude soothed him. Well, they killed my niece, of course.We all knew Lee had killed Clarences niece, but the old man didnt believe this any more than he believed Lee was dead. Did you see them when they did it? asked Angeline. Did you ever see them at all?Not when Tamara died, no, he admitted. His eyes got a far outside(a) look, as though he were staring straight into the past. But I knew what signs to look for. Id run into them before that, you see. plunk for when I was living in Santa Cruz. They like California, you know. And the Southwest.Goes back to their sun fixation.What happened in Santa Cruz? asked Dimitri.A group of their little ones began stalking me. Trying to kill me. The rest of us exchanged glances. So they do go after(prenominal) Moroi, said Eddie. He actually travel closer to Jill.Clarence shook his head. Not usually. From what Marcus told me, they prefer Strigoi.These were young, undisciplined members of their order going off on their own, without the knowledge of their superiors. I assume it was the same type who killed Tamara.Whos Marcus? I asked.Marcus Finch. He saved me from them a a few(prenominal) years ago. Fended them off during an attack and later got in touch with their order to keep those ruffians away from me. Clarence shivered at the memory. Not that I stayed around after that. I took Lee and left. That was when we moved to Los Angeles for a while.This Marcus, I said. Was he a guardian?A human. He was about your age then. He knew all about the hunters.I suppose he would if he got in touch with them, Dimitri speculated. But he must be friendly to Moroi if he helped you?Oh, yes, said Clarence. Very much so.Dimitri looked over at me. Do you think Yes, I said, guessing his question. Ill see if we can find this Marcus guy. Itd be nice to get a source of info thats not one of these crazy warriors. Im also going to report on all of this, actually.Me too, said Dimitri.Although Clarence wasnt the expert on the hunters that this mysterious Marcus was, the old Moroi stil l had a surprising amount of info to share info none of us had requireed to hear before. He verified what wed already deduced, about the hunters devotion to the light. The groups focus was Strigoi (for now), and all of their hunts were carefully planned and organized.They had a ritualized set of behaviors, particularly in regard to their younger members which was why the rogue group harassing Clarence had been stopped. From what Clarence had gathered, the group was quite tough on their new recruits, empha coat discipline and excellence.With the clock ticking down on Angelines reprieve, we needed to wrap things up shortly thereafter. I was also in charge of taking Adrian home, since we figured itd be best to eliminate any chance of Dimitri being followed back to Clarences. Besides, I could tell Dimitri was anxious to begin putting certain things in motion. He fatalityed to finalize Sonyas departure and also confer with the guardians in case Jill needed to be removed. Her face re flected what I felt about that possible outcome. Wed both become attached to Amberwood.While he was self-aggrandizing some last-minute instructions to Eddie, I pulled Sonya aside for a quiet word. I Ive been thinking about something, I told her.She studied me carefully, believably reading my aura and other body language. What is it? she asked. If you want if you really want it, you can have some of my blood. It was a huge, huge admission. Was it something I wanted to do? No. short not. I still had the same instinctive fears about giving my blood to Moroi, even for scientific purposes.And yet, yesterdays events and even the alley attack had begun making me re-analyze my worldview. Vampires werent the only monsters out there. They were hardly monsters at all, especially next to these vampire hunters. How could I judge the enemy on race? I was being reminded more and more that humans were just as capable as vampires of evil and that vampires were capable of good. It was actions t hat mattered, and Sonya and Dimitris were noble ones. They were fighting to destroy the last-ditch evil of all, and as squeamish as I felt about giving my blood, I knew the right thing was to help them.Sonya knew what a sacrifice this was for me. Her face stayed calm no whoops of joy and she nodded solemnly. I have my collection kit here. I can take a sample before you leave, if youre sure.So concisely? Well, why not. It was best to get it over with especially if Sonya would be leaving town soon anyway. We did it in the kitchen, which seemed slightly more sanitary than the living room. Sonya was no doctor, but whatever training shed had, it was right in line with what Id observed when getting physicals. Antiseptic, gloves, a new syringe. All the right procedures were followed, and after a nimble poke of the needle, she had my blood sample.Thank you, Sydney, she said, handing me a plastic bandage. I know how difficult this must have been for you. Believe me, this could really h elp us.I want to help, I told her. I really do.She smiled. I know. And we need all the help we can get. After being one of them Her smile faded. Well, I believe more than ever that their evil needs to be stopped. You might be the key.For one second, her words inspired me that I might somehow play a greater role in the fight against evil and maybe even stop it. Immediately, that thought was replaced by my old panic. No. No. I wasnt special. I didnt want to be. I would make a good faith effort to help, but surely nothing would come of it.I re turn to fetch the others. Adrian and Jill were having some earnest conversation in the corner. Eddie and Angeline were also talking, and I overheard her say, Ill stay with Jill more at school, just to be safe. We cant have her be part of some accident or mistaken identity. Eddie nodded and looked impressed that shed suggested it. Agreed. Amazing, I thought.I left soon with my carpool and swung by downtown to drop Adrian off. As I pulled up in f ront of his building, I cut something that made my jaw drop. Awe and disbelief roll through me. In what was probably the most ungraceful parking job Id ever done in my life, I brought Latte to an abrupt stop and was out of the car the second I pulled my keys from the ignition.The others followed moments later.What, I breathed. Is that?Oh, said Adrian casually. Thats my new car.I took a few steps forward and then stopped, afraid to approach it in the same way someone hesitated before royalty. Its a 1967 Ford Mustang convertible, I said, knowing my eyes were probably bugging out of my face. I began walking around it. The year they did a major overhaul and increased the size to keep up with other high-powered competition. See?Its the first model with the concave tail lights but the last to have the Ford block lettering up front until 1974.What in the world is that affectation? asked Eddie, not sounding impressed at all.Springtime Yellow, Adrian and I said in unison.I wouldve guessed corn Chiffon, said Eddie. Maybe you can get it repainted.No I exclaimed. I tossed my purse over onto the can and carefully touched the cars side. Braydens beautiful new Mustang suddenly seemed so ordinary. Its been touched up, obviously, but this is a authorized color. Which engine code is this? C, right?Um not sure, said Adrian. I know its got a V-8 engine.Of course it does, I said. It was hard not to roll my eyes. A 289. I want to know what the horsepower is.Its probably in the paperwork, Adrian said lamely.It was at that moment that I really processed Adrians earlier words. I looked up at him, knowing my face must be filled with disbelief. This is really your car?Yup, he said. I told you. The old man spotted me the money for one.And you got this one? I peered in through the window. Nice. Black interior, manual transmission.Yeah, said Adrian, a note of unease in his voice. Thats the problem. I glanced back. What is? The black is great. And the leathers condition is fantastic. So is the rest of the car.No, not the interior. The transmission. I cant drive a stick. I froze. You cant drive a stick?Neither can I, said Jill.You dont have a license, I reminded her. Although, my mother had taught me to drive before I had a license both automatic and manual transmission. I knew I shouldnt be surprised the stick was a lost art, as savage as such a lack seemed to me. That paled, of course, in comparison to the other obvious problem. why on earth would you buy a car like this if you cant drive a stick? There are dozens of cars new cars that have automatic transmission.Itd be a million times easier.Adrian shrugged. I like the color. It matches my living room. Eddie snorted.But you cant drive it, I pointed out.I figure it cant be that hard. Adrian sounded remarkably indifferent about what I found blasphemous. Ill just practice taking it around the block a few times and figure it out. I couldnt believe what I was hearing. What? Are you out of your mind? Youll ruin it if you dont know what youre doingWhat else am I supposed to do? he asked. Are you going to teach me? I turned back to the beautiful Mustang. Yes, I said adamantly. If thats what it takes to save it from you.I can show you too, said Eddie.Adrian do by him and focused on me. When we can start? I ran through my school schedule, knowing Id have to make talking to the Alchemists about the Warriors of Light my top priority. Then, the obvious hit me. Oh. When we see Wolfe this week. Well take this out there.Is that really to help me? asked Adrian. Or do you just want to drive the car?Both, I said, not abash to admit it.Angelines clock at school was ticking, so the rest of us had to leave. Id driven three blocks away when I realized Id left my purse on the grass. With a groan, I looped around and returned to his building. My purse was there, but the Mustang was gone.Wheres the car? I asked, panicked. No one could have stolen it that fast.Oh, said Jill from the backseat, sounding slight ly nervous. I saw through the bond. He, um, moved it.It was handy having the bond as a source of information, but her words made me panic more than if the car actually had been stolen. He what?Not far, she said quickly. Just behind the building. This streets got uncanny overnight parking rules.I grimaced. Well, Im glad it wont get towed, but he shouldve had me move it Even if its not far, he could ruin the transmission.Im sure its fine, said Jill. There was a strange note to her voice.I didnt respond. Jill was no car expert. None of them were. Its like letting a toddler loose in a room full of china, I muttered. What was he thinking? About any of this? No one had an answer for that. I got us back to Amberwood in time for Angelines curfew and retreated to the sanity and calm of my room. As soon as I was satisfied my friends were safe and secure for the night, I e-mailed Donna Stanton a high-up Alchemist whom Id inexplicably developed a good relationship with about the hunters and what wed learned. I even took pictures of the pamphlet and e-mailed those as swell. Once that was done, I sat back and tried to think if there was anything else at all I could provide her with that might help.It was only when Id weary all options (and refreshed my inbox a few times to see if shed responded already) that I finally moved on to homework. As usual, I was pretty much caught up on every appellative save one.Ms. Terwilligers.That dopy book was on my desk, staring back at me, daring me to open it. I still had a number of days before her spell was due, time during which I could continue to procrastinate.I was beginning to accept, however, that this assignment wasnt going to go away. Considering how long some of the prep on these took, maybe itd be best to prick up the bullet and get it out of the way.Resolved, I brought the book over to my bed and opened it to the table of contents, scan some of the spells shed gone over with me. My stomach twisted at most of them, eve ry instinct weighty me how wrong it was to even be attempting these. Magic is for vampires, not humans.I still believed that to be true, but the uninflected part of my mind couldnt help but apply some of the defensive spells to various situations. Much like my decision to give blood, recent events had made me look at the world differently. Was magic wrong? Yes. But that blindness spell would have certainly been useful in the alley. Another spell, one that temporarily immobilized people, couldve been used if Id wanted to flee from the hunters at the cafe. Sure, it only lasted thirty seconds, but that was more than enough time for me to have escaped.On and on, I went down the list. They were all so wrong and yet so useful. If I hadnt seen the conjure charm Id made ignite a Strigoi, I wouldnt have believed any of these were possible.But by all accounts, they were.So much power the ability to protect myselfImmediately, I rebuked myself for such a thought. I had no need for power. Tha t kind of thinking was what led freaks like Liam to want to be Strigoi. Although was it really the same? I didnt want immortality. I didnt want to hurt others. I just wanted to protect myself and those I cared about. Wolfe had a lot to teach me, but his preventative techniques wouldnt help if determined vampire hunters cornered Sonya and me again. As time went on, it was becoming clear that the hunters were very determined.I returned to the table of contents, finding several that would be useful and well within my capabilities to make. According to Ms. Terwilliger, someone like me had excellent potential for magic because of inborn talent (which I didnt entirely believe) and the rigorous Alchemist training in measurement and attention to detail. It wasnt difficult to figure out how long it would take me to produce any of these likely candidates.The question was which spell did I make? Which did I have time to make?The answer was eerily simple.I had time to make all of them.