A moment later, she added, "Oh, and I thought it would be a good idea to obscure your appearance as well."
I brightened. I couldn't explain it, but somehow, that made me feel immensely better. "There are a lot of spells for that, right?" I'd seen a number of them in my studies. Even if I had to use magic, it was better to at least look different.
"Yes. . . ." She drummed her fingers against the table. "But the amulet might not be able to hide you wearing an 'active' spell, which would then defeat the whole purpose. What I was actually hoping was that your 'brother' Adrian might be able to help."
My legs felt weak, and I sat back down. "Why on earth should Adrian be involved in this?"
"Well, he seems like he'd do anything for you." I eyed her, wondering if there was a double meaning in that. Her gaze was far away, her thoughts turned inward. She'd meant her words honestly. "Veronica wouldn't be able to detect vampire magic. His power . . . that spirit element he was telling me about . . . it can confuse the mind, right? Affect what others can see?"
"Yes. . . ."
She focused on me again, nodding in satisfaction. "If he could accompany you, help muddle whoever meets you . . . well, that would offer an extra level of protection."
I still didn't know what all I'd be doing to hunt Ms. Terwilliger's sister, but it sounded like, at the very least, there'd be a drive to Los Angeles in my future. Me, trapped in another small space with Adrian while he continued with that infuriating "loving from afar." I was so caught up in the emotional turmoil that idea caused that it took me a moment to realize the larger issue I was letting myself get sucked into.
"Do you realize what you're asking?" I said quietly. I touched the garnet again. "To be a part of this, you're asking me to expose myself to both human magic and vampire magic. Everything I try to avoid."
Ms. Terwilliger snorted, and for the first time tonight, I saw a return of her usual amused attitude. "Unless I'm mistaken, you've been exposing yourself to both kinds of magic for some time now. So, it can't go against your beliefs that much." She paused meaningfully. "If anything, it seems like it goes against the Alchemists' beliefs."
"The Alchemists' beliefs are my beliefs," I said quickly.
She arched an eyebrow. "Are they? I would hope your beliefs would be your beliefs."
I'd never thought about it that way before, but I suddenly hoped desperately that her words were true.
Chapter Six
I FOLLOWED MS. TERWILLIGER'S instructions diligently. I never took the garnet off, not even when I slept or showered. When school started the next morning, I wore it under my shirt to avoid any questions. It didn't exactly scream "magical amulet," but it was certainly conspicuous. To my surprise, Ms. Terwilliger wasn't in her first-period history class, making me wonder if she was doing some investigating of her own.
"Ms. T on some secret mission?"
I flinched and realized I'd been lost in my own thoughts. I turned and found Trey Juarez kneeling by my desk. Class hadn't started yet, and a confused-looking substitute teacher was trying to make sense of the chaos of Ms. Terwilliger's desk. Trey grinned at my surprise.
"Wh-what?" I asked. Had he somehow found out about Veronica? I tried to keep cool. "What makes you say that?"
"I was just joking," he said. "This is the second year I've had her, and she's never missed a day." He gave me a puzzled look. "Unless you really do know something I don't?"
"No," I said quickly. "I'm just as surprised as you are."
Trey scrutinized me a few moments. We were good friends here at Amberwood, with only one teeny-tiny problem hanging between us.
His family was tied to the Warriors of Light.
Last month, the Warriors had tried to kill Sonya in a barbaric execution ritual. Trey had been one of the contenders for the "honor" of killing her, though he'd thrown the match at the last minute. I'd tried to appeal to the Warriors to release Sonya, but they hadn't listened. She and I were both saved when a raiding party of dhampirs showed up and defeated the Warriors. Stanton had helped orchestrate that raid - but hadn't bothered to fill me in that I was being used as a distraction. It was part of what had fueled my distrust of her and the Alchemists.
Trey had been blamed for getting me involved with the ritual, and the Warriors had ostracized his father and him. Just as I had been pressured by the Alchemists, Trey had had Warrior doctrine drilled into him his whole life. His father was so ashamed of the fallout that he would barely speak to Trey now. I knew how much Trey wanted his father's approval, so this silence was more painful to him than the Warriors' treatment.
Our allegiances made things difficult. When I'd once tentatively hinted to Trey that we still had unresolved issues between us, he'd responded with a bitter laugh. "You have nothing to worry about anymore," he'd told me. "I'm not hiding any secret plans from you - because I don't know any. They won't tell us anything. I'm not one of them, as far as they're concerned. I've been cut off forever, and it'd take a miracle for them to ever take us back." There'd been something in his dark eyes that told me if he ever could find that miracle, he'd jump on it. I'd tried asking about that, but he wouldn't discuss it any further. "I want to be your friend, Melbourne," he had said. "I like you. We're never going to resolve our differences. Might as well ignore them since we have to be together every day."
Amazingly, our friendship had managed to survive all that drama. The tension was always there, lurking between us, but we tried to ignore it. Although he knew about my involvement in the vampiric world, he had no idea I was taking behind-the-scenes magic lessons with our history teacher, of course.
If he thought I was lying about Ms. Terwilliger's absence today, he didn't push the matter. He nodded toward the sub. "This is going to be a blow-off day."
I dragged my mind away from magical intrigue. After being homeschooled for most of my life, some parts of the "normal" school world were a mystery. "What's that mean, exactly?"
"Usually teachers leave subs a lesson plan, telling them what to do. I saw the one Ms. Terwilliger left. It said, 'Distract them.'" Trey shook his head in mock sympathy. "I hope you can handle the wasted academic time. I mean, she'll probably say something like, 'Work on homework.' But no one will."
He was right. I wasn't sure if I could handle this. "Why wouldn't they?"
This seemed to amuse him immensely. "Melbourne, sometimes you're the only reason I come to class. I saw her sub plan for your independent study, by the way. It said you didn't even have to stick around. You're free to run wild."
Eddie, sitting nearby, overheard and scoffed. "To the library?"
This made both of them laugh, but my mind was already spinning with possibilities. If I really didn't have to stay for my last class, I'd be free to leave campus early. I could go into Los Angeles to look for Veronica and - no. Adrian wasn't back. For a moment, I toyed with the idea of investigation without his spirit magic, but Ms. Terwilliger's warnings echoed through my mind. The hunt would have to wait.
But I could still look for Marcus Finch.
Santa Barbara was two hours away. That meant I had enough time to drive up there, do some investigating of Marcus, and still comfortably make it back by the school's curfew. I hadn't intended to go look for him until this weekend but realized now that I shouldn't waste this opportunity. Ms. Terwilliger's task weighed heavily on me as well, but I couldn't do anything about it until Adrian returned tonight.
Marcus Finch had been a mystery to me since the moment I'd discovered he was an ex-Alchemist. Realizing that I might actually get some answers today made my heart pound in overtime. It was one thing to suspect the Alchemists had been holding out on me. It was an entirely different matter to accept that I might be on the verge of having those suspicions confirmed. It was actually kind of terrifying.
As the day progressed, I became more and more resolved to make the drive. I had to face this sooner or later, and I might as well get it over with. For all I knew, Marcus had simply been sightseeing in Santa Barbara and could be gone already. I didn't want to repeat the scrying spell if I could help it.
Sure enough, when I showed up for what would normally be my independent study at the end of the day, the sub (looking extremely worn out after a day of following in Ms. Terwilliger's footsteps) told me I was free to go. I thanked her and hurried off to my dorm room, conscious of the clock that was now ticking. I didn't know exactly what I'd be facing in Santa Barbara, but I planned to be prepared for anything.
I changed out of my Amberwood uniform, opting for jeans and a plain black blouse. Kneeling by my bed, I pulled out a large metal box from underneath it. At first glance, the box looked like a makeup kit. However, it had an intricate lock that required both a key and combination. Inside was my Alchemist chemistry set, a collection of chemicals that would probably get me kicked out of school if found since it looked like it was capable of manufacturing illegal drugs. And really, some of the compounds probably were pretty questionable.
I selected some basics. One was a formula that was usually used to dissolve Strigoi bodies. I didn't expect to encounter any Strigoi in Santa Barbara, but the compound could also be used to disintegrate metal pretty handily. I chose a couple other mixtures - like one that could create a spy-worthy smoke screen - and carefully wrapped them all up before slipping them into my messenger bag. Then I locked the box again and slid it back under the bed.
After a little consideration, I took a deep breath and produced another hidden box. This was a new one in my collection. It contained various charms and potions I'd made under Ms. Terwilliger's instruction. Staring at its contents, I felt my stomach twist. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I'd have such a kit. When we'd first met, I'd only created charms under duress. Now I had several that I'd willingly made, and if what she'd said about her sister was true, I'd need to start making more. With great reluctance, I picked a variety of these as well and packed them up with the Alchemist chemicals. After a moment's consideration, I put a couple in my pocket for quick access.
The drive to Santa Barbara was easy this time of day December had cooled off some of southern California's weather, but the sun was still out, making it seem warmer than it really was. And, as I drove up the coast, the desert gave way to more temperate conditions. Rain increased in the middle and northern parts of the state this time of year, making the landscape lush and green. I really did love Palm Springs and Amberwood, but there were times I wouldn't have minded if Jill's assignment had taken us up here.
Finding the Old Mission Santa Barbara wasn't difficult. It was a well-known tourist attraction and pretty easy to spot once you were nearby. The sprawling church looked exactly as it had in my vision save that it was lit by mid-afternoon sunshine rather than twilight. I pulled off to the side of the road in a residential neighborhood and gazed up at the beautiful stucco and terra-cotta masterpiece. I wished I had the time to go on a tour, but, as they so often did, my personal desires had to take a backseat to a larger goal.
Now came the more difficult part - having to figure out where the studio I'd seen might be. The neighborhood I parked in provided a view that was similar to the one I'd observed in the spell. The angles weren't exact, however, and this street only contained houses. I was almost certain the studio I'd seen had been in an apartment building. Keeping the mission in view, I drove a few more streets over and found what I'd hoped for: several blocks containing apartment complexes.
One looked too nice to have what I'd seen. The studio had seemed pretty bare bones and run down. The other two buildings on the street looked like more likely candidates. I drove to each one and walked around their grounds, trying to imagine what the angle might be when viewed from a higher window. I wished I'd had a chance to actually look down to the parking lot in the vision. It would have given me a better idea of the floor. After much thought, I finally deduced the studio had been on the third or fourth floor. Since one of the buildings only had two floors, that gave me a pretty positive hit on the correct place.
Stepping inside the building made me glad I'd packed hand sanitizer in my bag. The halls looked like they hadn't been swept in over a year. The walls were dirty, their paint chipped. Bits of trash sat on the floor. Cobwebs hung in some of the corners, and I prayed spiders were the only creepy-crawly inhabitants. If I saw a roach, I was probably going to bolt. The building had no front desk I could make inquiries at, so I flagged down a middle-aged woman as she was leaving. She paused, regarding me warily.
"Hi," I said, hoping I looked non-threatening. "I'm trying to find a friend of mine, but I don't know which apartment he lives in. Maybe you know him? His name is Marcus. He has a blue tattoo on his face." Seeing her blank look, I repeated the question in Spanish. Comprehension showed in her expression, but once she'd heard my entire question, her only response was a brief headshake. I didn't even have time to show her Marcus's picture.
I spent the next half hour doing the same thing whenever I saw residents going in or out. I stayed outside this time, preferring a brightly lit public area to the dingy interior. Some of the people I talked to were a little sketchy, and a couple of guys looked me over in a way I definitely didn't like. I was about to give up when a younger boy approached me. He appeared to be about ten and had been playing in the parking lot.