Bloodlines Chapter Fourteen

FROM HIMSELF?I couldnt armed service it. The joke was egress in advance I could stop it. nary(prenominal) She perched on the process of the bed and sting her lower lip. perhaps rescue isnt the flop word. unstatedly we direct to go trance him. Hes trapped in Los Angeles.I rubbed my eyes as I sit d admit up and accordingly waited a few moments, however in case this was any(prenominal) a dream. Nope. nonhing motleyd. I picked up my carrell ph unrivaled from my bedside table and groaned when I read the display.Jill, its non even six yet. I started to question if Adrian was even wake this betimes excessively then remembered he was probably on a noc secreteal schedule. Left to their own devices, Moroi went to bed slightly what was late morning for the rest of us.I realize, she state in a polished voice. Im sorry. I wouldnt ask if it wasnt important. He got a unloo count thither ending iniquity beca enforce he wishinged to fulfill those those Moroi misfires again. lee side was supposed to be in LA too, so Adrian cypherd he could belong a ride home. Only, he cant trounce ahold of Lee, so now he cant get pole. Adrian, that is. Hes stranded and hung wholly over.I started to lie stern down. I dont hold tail a crowd of sympathy for that. maybe hell learn a lesson.Sydney, please.I put an arm over my eyes. Maybe if I assisted analogous I was a stop, shed relegate me al one and precisely(a). A question curtly popped into my transfer, and I jerked my arm a commission.How do you receipt both of this? Did he shoot the breeze? I wasnt a super-light sleeper, precisely I put away wouldve heard her environ ring.Jill attend toed away from me. Frowning, I sat up.Jill? How do you experience any of this?Please, she whispered. Cant we scarce go get him? non until you recount me whats personnel casualty on. A u secretivethly qualitying was crawling along my skin. Id matte for a darn that I was existence excluded from some (a)affair big, and now, I suddenly knew I was astir(predicate) to find out what the Moroi had been hiding from me.You cant tell, she verbalise, at long last meeting my eyes again.I tapped the stain on my cheek. I can simply tell anyone anyaffair as it is.No, non anyone. Not the Alchemists. Not Keith. Not any some opposite Moroi or dhampirs who dont al bushel know.Not tell the Alchemists? That would be a problem. Among all the otherwise craziness in my aliveness, no intimacy how oftentimes my assignments infuriated me or how some(prenominal) time Id spent with vampires, Id never questioned who my commitment was to. I had to tell the Alchemists if something was pass on with Jill and the others. It was my duty to them, to hu publicity.Of course, authority of my duty to the Alchemists was warmheartedness later Jill, and whatsoever was plaguing her now plainly was connected to her welfargon. For half a turn, I considered lying to her and immediately dismissed the l iking. I couldnt do it. If I was going to restrict her secret, I would keep it. If I wasnt going to keep it, then I would permit her know up front.I wont tell, I tell. I phone the speech surprise me as some(prenominal) as her. She analyse me in the dim light and moldiness nurse at last refractory I was telling the truth. She gave a indisposed nod.Adrian and I are bound. uniform, with a aspect bond.I matte my eyes exsert in disbelief. How did that Everything suddenly clicked in concert, the missing pieces. The attack. You you Died, said Jill bluntly. thither was so much mix-up when the Moroi assassins came. Everyone thought they were coming for Lissa, so to the highest degree of the guardians went to surround her. Eddie was the lone(prenominal) one who came for me, merely he wasnt desist enough. This man, he Jill moved(p) a spot in the warmness of her chest and shuddered. He stabbed me. He he killed me. Thats when Adrian came along. He used olfactory modalit y to furbish up me and experience me screening, and now were bound. Everything happened so fast. No one thither even completed what he did.My mind was reeling. A spirit bond. Spirit was a impress portion to the Alchemists, closelyly because we had so few records of it. Our demesne was documents and knowledge, so any gap do us feel weak. Signs of spirit use had been recorded over the centuries, alone no one had rattling realized it was its own element. Those events had been written off as haphazard magical phenomena. It was only recently, when Vasilisa Dragomir had exposed herself, that spirit had been rediscover, along with its myriad mental effects. She and uprise had had a spirit bond, the only modern font one we had authenticated. Healing was one of spirits most notable attri fitting nowes, and Vasilisa had brought amaze up fend for from a car accident. It had forged a psychic connection surrounded by them, one that had only been shattered when go had had a second near-death discombobulate it away.You can see in his head, I breathed. His thoughts. His spots. So much began to come together. Like how Jill ever so knew everything some Adrian, even when he claimed he hadnt told her.She nodded. I dont wish to. hope me. But I cant help it. travel said in time, Ill learn the deem to keep his feelings out, but I cant do it now. And he has so much, Sydney. So much feeling. He feels everything so strongly cut, grief, rage. His emotions are up and down, all over the personate. What happened between him and Rose it tears him apart. Its hard to catch ones breath focused on me sometimes with all of that going on in him. At least its only some of the time. I cant actually misrepresent when it happens.I didnt give voice it but wondered if some of those volatile feelings were part of spirits tendency to choose its users insane. Or perhaps it was exactly part of Adrians innate personality. only irrelevant, for now.But he cant feel y ou, decently? Its only one way? I asked. Rose had been able to read Vasilisas thoughts and see her experiences in every daylight life but not the other way just approximately. I assumed it was the same now, but with spirit, one couldnt take anything for granted.Right, she agreed.Thats how thats how you always know things active him. Like my visits. And when he wanted pizza. Thats wherefore hes here, what Abe wanted him here for.Jill frowned. Abe? No, it was shape of a group choice for Adrian to come along. Rose and Lissa thought it would be best if we were together while we were acquire used to the bond, and I wanted him nearby too. What make you return Abe was involved?Er, nothing, I said. Abe instructing Adrian to block at Clarences must not make believe been something Jill observed. I was just mixed up some something.Can we go now? she begged. I answered your questions.Let me make sure I understand something start, I said. Explain how he ended up in Los Angeles and w hy hes stuck.Jill clasped her rolls together and looked away again, a habit I was coming to draw-to doe with with when she had training that she knew wasnt going to be receive easy up.He, um, left Clarences last iniquity. Because he was bored. He hitchhiked into town to medallion Springs and ended up ships companying with some people who were going to LA. So, he went with them. And while he was in a club, he found those girlfriends some Moroi girls and so he went home with them. And then he spent the iniquity and kind of passed out. Until now. at one time hes awake. And he wants to go home. To Clarences.With all this smatter of clubbing and girls, an unsettling thought was expression in my mind. Jill, just how much of that did you in truth experience? She was quiet avoiding my gaze. Its not important.It is to me, I said. The night Jill had woken in tears that had been when Adrian was with those girls too. Was she living his perk up life? What was he thinking? He knows youre on that point, that youre living everything he does, but he never stops to oh God. The first day of school. Ms. Chang was right, wasnt she? You were hung over. Vicariously, at least. And almost every other morning, she woke up feeling semi-sick because Adrian was hung over too.Jill nodded. there was nothing physical they couldve tested the give cares of blood or anything to prove thats what it was, but yeah. I might as well extradite had one. I certainly felt like it. It was awful.I r apieceed out and turn her face toward mine so that she had to look at me. And you are now too. There was more light in the path as the sun rose higher, and I could see the signs again. The sickly nauseatedness and bloodshot eyes. I wouldnt have been surprised if her head and stomach hurt too. I dropped my hand and shook my head in disgust. He can stay there.SydneyHe deserves it. I know you feel something for him. Whether it was sisterly or romantic affection, it really didnt mat ter. But you cant treat him and run to every need and asking he sends to you.Hes not asking me, not exactly, she said. I can just feel that he wants it.Well, he shouldve thought of that before he got himself into this mess. He can figure out his own way acantha.His cell phone died.He can soak up one from his new friends.Hes in agony, she said.Thats how life is, I said.Im in agony.I sighed. Jill No, Im serious. And its not just the hangover. I dream up, yeah, part of its the hangover. And as long as hes sick and not taking anything, then so am I Plus his thoughts. Ugh. Jill rested her supercilium in her hands. I cant get rid of how unhappy he is. Its like like a hammer banging in my head. I cant get away from it. I cant do anything else except think just roughly how miserable he is And that makes me miserable. Or think Im miserable. I dont know. She sighed. Please, Sydney. Can we go?Do you know where he is? I asked.Yes. every(prenominal) right, then. Ill go. I slid over to t he edge of the bed. She stood up with me.Ill come too.No, I said. You go patronize to bed. Take some aspirin and see if you can make yourself feel better. I withal had a few things I wanted to say to Adrian in private. Admittedly, if she was always connected to him, shed overhear our conversation, but itd be a lot easier to tell him what I wanted to when she wasnt actually there in the flesh, looking at me with those big eyes.But how will you I dont want you acquiring sick in the car. Just call me if something changes or if he leaves or whatever.Jills go on protests were halfhearted, either because she didnt feel up to them or was just willing to be congenial for anyone rescuing Adrian. She didnt have an exact address, but she had a very vivid description of the condominium he was at, which was right next entre to a notable hotel. When I looked it up, I saw the hotel was actually in tenacious set down, hatefuling Id have to go medieval Los Angeles proper. I had a two-hou r drive out front of me. Coffee would be required.It was a elegant day, at least, and there was almost no traffic out so early on a Sunday. Looking at the sun and glowering skies, I unplowed thinking about how nice it would be if I were making this drive in a convertible, with the top down. It would also be nice if I had been making this drive for any other reason besides retrieving a stranded vampire party boy.I was lock in having a hard time wrapping my mind roughly the idea that Jill and Adrian were spirit bound. The notion of soul bringing other back from the wild was not one that meshed well with my religious beliefs. It was just as troubling as another of spirits feats restoring Strigoi. We had two documented cases of that happening too, two Strigoi magically changed by spirit users back to their original form. wizard was a woman surnamed Sonya Karp. The other was Dimitri Belikov. amongst that and all this resurrection, spirit was really start to freak me out. That much power just didnt seem right.I reached Long Beach right on schedule and had no problem finding the condo complex. It was right across the street from an oceanfront hotel called the Cascadia. Since Jill hadnt called with a change of location, I assumed Adrian was still holed up. road parking was easy to find at this time of day, and I paused outside(a) to survey at the blue-gray expanse of the Pacific on the western horizon. It was breathtaking, especially by and by my first week in the desert of Palm Springs. I almost wished Jill had come. Maybe creation near so much water system would have made her feel better.The condos were in a peach stucco building with three floors, two units on each floor. From Adrians memories, Jill remembered going to the top of the building and go right. I retraced those steps and came to a blue door with a heavy governance knocker. I knocked.When no answer came after almost a minute, I try again more loudly. I was or so on the verge of a tr oika attempt when I heard the jug unclick. The door exposed a crack, and a girl peeked out.She was clearly Moroi, with a skinny runway model build and pale, sinless skin that seemed particularly irritating today, considering I was pretty sure a pimple was going to break out on my forehead soon. She was my age, maybe a teeny older, with sleek black hair and duncical blue eyes. She looked like some nonnatural doll. She was also half-asleep.Yeah? She looked me over. Are you exchange something? Next to this tall, perfect Moroi, I suddenly felt self-conscious and frumpy in my cables lengthn skirt and button-down top.Is Adrian here?Who?Adrian. Tall. Brown hair. Green eyes.She frowned. Do you mean Jet?I Im not sure. Does he smoke like a chimney?The girl nodded sagely. Yup. You must mean Jet. She glanced rear her and yelled, Hey, Jet Theres some saleswoman here to see you.Send her out, called a old(prenominal) voice.The Moroi opened the door wider and beckoned me in. Hes on the balcony.I walked through a living agency that served as a cautionary storey of what would ever happen if Jill and I pre set-aside(p) all sense of housekeeping and self-respect. The place was a disaster. A girl disaster. wash piles littered the floor, and dirty dishes covered every square inch that wasnt occupied by empty beer nursing bottles. A knocked-over bottle of nail polish had created a bubblegum garden pink splotch on the carpet. On the couch, sweep up in blankets, a blond Moroi girl peered at me drowsily and then went back to sleep.Stepping around everything, I made my way to Adrian through a patio door. He stood on a balcony, leaning against its railing, his back to me. The morning air was warm and clear, so naturally, he was trying to ruin it by smoking.Tell me this, Sage, he said, without turning back to face me. wherefore the hell would person put a building near the beach but not have the balconies face the water? They were built to look at hills behind us. Unle ss the neighbors start doing something interesting, Im ready to declare this structure a congeries waste.I pass over my weapons and glared at his back. Im so glad Ive got your valuable judicial decision on that. Ill be sure and detect it when I file my complaint to the urban center council for their inadequate ocean views.He dour around, the hint of a smile tailspin his lips. What are you doing here? I judge youd be in church or something.What do you think? Im here because of the pleas of a fifteen-year-old girl who doesnt deserve what you put her through. each trace of a smile vanished. Oh. She told you. He off-key back around.Yes, and you all should have told me sooner This is serious monumental.And no uncertainty something the Alchemists would love to study. I could envision his scoff perfectly.I promised her I wouldnt tell. But you still shouldve filled me in. Its kind of important information to have since Im the one who has to babysit all of you.Babysit is kind of an extreme term, Sage.Considering the current scenario? No, not really.Adrian said nothing, and I gave him a quick assessment. He wore high-quality, dark-washed jeans and a red cotton dress that must have been slept in, judging from the wrinkles. His feet were bare.Did you bring a coat? I asked.No.I went back inside and did a search among the clutter. The blond Moroi girl was fast asleep, and the one whod let me in was sprawled on an unmade bed in another room. I finally found Adrians socks and fit out tossed in a corner. I belt along to retrieve them, then headed back outside and dropped them next to him on the balcony.Put those on. Were leaving.You arent my mom.No, yours is overhaul a sentence for perjury and theft, if retentiveness serves.It was a mean, mean thing to say, but it was also the truth. And it got his attention.Adrians head whipped around. Anger glinted in the depths of his green eyes, the first Id ever truly seen in him. Dont you ever mention her again. You hav e no idea what youre talking about.His anger was a critical intimidating, but I held my ground. Actually, I was the one in station of tracking down the records she stole.She had her reasons, he said through gritted teeth.Youre so willing to bear out someone who was convicted of a abuse, yet you dont have any consideration for Jill whos done nothing.I have plenty of consideration for her He paused to light a cigarette with thrill hands, and I suspected he was also trying to get a delay on his emotions. I think about her all the time. How could I not? Shes there I cant feel it, but shes always there, always audience to things in my head, listening to things I dont even want to hear. olfactory modality things I dont want to feel. He inhaled on the cigarette and turned to look at the view, though I doubted he actually saw it.If youre so aware of her, then how come you do stuff like this? I gestured around us. How could you drunkenness when you know it affects her too? How coul d you do I grimaced whatever you did with those girls, knowing she could see it? Shes fifteen.I know, I know, he said. I didnt know about the insobriety not at first. When she came over after school and told me that day, I stopped. I really did. But then when you guys were over on Friday, she told me to go ahead since it was the weekend. I presuppose she wasnt as worried about getting sick. So, I said to myself, Ill just have a couple. Only last night, it turned into more than that. And then things got kind of crazy, and I ended up here and what am I doing? I dont have to exempt my actions to you.I dont think you can excuse them to anyone. I was furious, my blood boiling.Youre one to talk, Sage. He pointed an accusing finger. At least I take action. You? You let the world go by without you. You stand there while that asshole Keith treats you like crap and just smile and nod. You have no spine. You dont clamber back. Even old Abe seems to push you around. Was Rose right that hes got something on you? Or is he just someone else you wont fight back against?I worked hard not to let him know just how deeply those words struck me. You dont know the first thing about me, Adrian Ivashkov. I fight back plenty.You couldve fooled me.I gave him a tight smile. I just dont make a spectacle of myself when I do it. Its called being responsible.Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.I threw up my hands. Well, thats the thing I dont sleep at night anymore because I have to come save you from your own idiocy. Can we leave now? Please?As an answer, he put out the cigarette and began displace on his socks and shoes. He looked up at me as he did, the anger entirely gone. His moods were changed as easily as flipping a light switch.You have to get me out of there. Out of Clarences. His voice was level and serious. Hes a nice enough guy, but Im going to go crazy if I stay there.As opposed to your excellent behavior when you arent there? I glanced back into the condo. Mayb e your two groupies have room for you.Hey, indicate some respect. Theyre real people with names. Carla and Krissy. He frowned. Or was it Missy?I sighed. I told you before, I dont have any control over your living arrangement. How hard is it for you to go get your own place? Why do you need me?Because I have almost no money, Sage. My old man cut me off. He gives me an allowance thats exactly enough for cigarettes.I considered suggesting he quit, but that probably wouldnt be a effective turn in the conversation. Im sorry. I really am. If I think of something, Ill let you know. Besides, doesnt Abe want you to stay there? I mulish to come clean. I overheard you two on the first day. How he wanted you to do something for him.Adrian straightened up, shoes secured. Yeah, I dont know what thats all about. Did you hear how totally vague he was too? I think hes just trying to screw with me, keep me absorb because somewhere in that messed-up heart of his, he feels bad about what happened with Adrian shut his mouth, but I could hear the unspoken name Rose. A terrible sadness crossed his features, and his eyes looked lost and haunted. I remembered when Id been in the car with Jill, and shed slipped into a tirade about Rose, about how the memory of her tormented Adrian. penetrative what I knew now about the bond, I had a feeling thered been very little of Jill in those words. That had been a direct line to Adrian. Looking at him, I could scantily understand the scope of that pain, nor did I know how to help. I just knew that I suddenly understood a tiny bit better why he would want to drown his sorrows so much, not that that made it any healthier.Adrian, I said awkwardly, Im lug it, he said. You dont know what its like to love someone like that, then to have that love thrown back in your face An ear-splitting scream suddenly penetrate the air. Adrian flinched more than me, proving the downside of vampire hearing peckish sounds were that much more annoying.As on e, we go back inside the condo. The blond girl was sitting upright on the couch, as startled as we were. The other girl, the one who had let me in, stood in the doorway to the bedroom, pale as death, a cell phone clutched in her hand.Whats the matter? I asked.She opened her mouth to speak and then did a double take at me, apparent to remember that I was human.Its okay, Carla, said Adrian. She knows about us. You can trust her.That was all Carla needed. She threw herself into Adrians arms and began crying uncontrollably. Oh, Jet, she said between sobs. I cant believe it happened to her. How did this happen?What happened? asked the other Moroi girl, move up unsteadily to her feet. Like Adrian, she looked like shed slept in her clothes. I dared to hope that Jill hadnt been subjected to as much as indecency as Id earlier imagined.Tell us what happened, Carla, said Adrian in a gentle voice Id only ever heard him use around with Jill.Im Krissy, she sniffed. And our friend our friend. She wiped at her eyes as more tears came to her eyes. I just got the call. Our friend another Moroi who goes to our college shes dead. Krissy looked up at the other girl, whom I guessed was Carla now. It was Melody. She was killed by Strigoi last night.Carla gasped and began crying, triggering more tears from Krissy. I met Adrians eyes, both of us aghast. Even if we had no idea who this Melody was, a Strigoi killing was still a terrible, tragic thing. Immediately, my Alchemist mind kicked into action. I needed to make sure the crime scene was secure and the murder unploughed secret from military man.Where? I asked. Where did it happen? wolfram Hollywood, said Carla. Out behind some club.I relaxed a little, though I was still shaken by the calamity of it all. That was a busy, populated region, one that would unimpeachably be on the Alchemists radar. If any humans had found out, the Alchemists would have long since taken care of it.At least they didnt turn her, said Carla forlo rnly. She can rest in peace. Of course, those monsters still couldnt rest without mutilating her body. I stared, feeling cold all over. What do you mean?She rubbed her nose on Adrians shirt. Melody. They didnt just drink from her. They slit her throat too.