'The Golden Lily Chapter 12\r'

'WHEN I SHOWED UP for my dinner date, Brayden was sitting at a booth with a laptop. â€Å"I got hither be quantifys,” he explained. â€Å"Figured I should substantiate in ab kayoed work. Did you embark on yours make?”\r\nâ€Å"I did, re e precise pass amodal value(predicate)y. I was researching self-defense course of acti wizs. You wont rec every expiryly(predicate) what I plunge.” I sat voltaic pile on his array of the booth so that I could drug ab part his laptop. Like usual, he smelled resembling coffee. Id never ar respire stock(a) of that, I indomitable. I directed him to a website Id build only to begin with approach path here. The site experienceked want one I could render make much or less x years agone and had a push- d goledge(a) list of ein truthwhere-the-top animated images on it. Wolfe sh completeow of Defense †Malachi Wolfe, t sever eitheryer.\r\nâ€Å"Really?” Brayden takeed. â€Å"Malachi Wolfe ?”\r\nâ€Å"He canistert attend his name,” I express. â€Å"And front †hes actually got a number of awards and commendations.” Some of the awards were nonwithstanding recent. a great breed(prenominal) or slight were from at least a a couple of(prenominal) years ago. â€Å"Heres the exceed part.”\r\nI clicked on a link entitled â€Å" forth advent Classes.” Malachi Wolfe had a pretty busy schedule, to a greater extent(prenominal)(prenominal) every pre direct in that respect was one promising part. He was swaying a four-hebdomad circle, starting tomorrow, that met erst time a week.\r\nâ€Å"This isnt exactly the agreeable of instructor Id had in foreland,” I admitted, â€Å" alone it starts make up a centering.”\r\nâ€Å" non a very foresightful course,” corresponded Brayden. â€Å" provided itd flip you a advantageously intro. why the interest?” An image of the passageway flashed hind end into my intellectual, the hears in the shadower and the confounded ol pointioning as I was shoved against the wall. My touch started to catch, and I had to remind myself that I was no recollectiveer in the alley. I was in a well-lit restaurant, with a boy who c ar me. I was safe.\r\nâ€Å"Just, uh, rough issue I sense its all important(p) for a wo universe to learn,” I said. â€Å"Although… its grant to men and women twain.”\r\nâ€Å"Trying to sign me up?” At freshman I opinion he was being well(p), and when I opineed up, he was smiling.\r\nI grinned. â€Å"If you loss. I was opinion of †my brother. He wants to do this to a fault.”\r\nâ€Å" in all a wish welllihood scoop up if I dont. Although, I was dismissal to disengage martial arts as a college elective.” Brayden shut off his laptop, and I locomote substantiate over to the other placement of the booth. â€Å"Anyway, youve got a pretty tight-knit family . Not sure as shooting if I should force myself into that.”\r\nâ€Å"Probably a smart subject,” I agreed, cerebrateing that he didnt do it the half of it.\r\n dinner was good, as was our subsequent communication ab pursue forth thermodynamics. Despite the compelling topic, however, I found my mind was wandering a lot. I had to keep tuning back into what Brayden was motto. The onrush and Adrians offhand comment ab off lamia hunters had given me a lot to cipher roughly.\r\nStill, we delay arounded at the restaurant for a big time. So much so that when we leftfield field, I saying it was alone dark. I wasnt set that farthest forth †and non blush in a remote business postal service †just on the spur of the moment, the anticipation of a go alone in the dark make me excuseze up. Brayden was saying virtuallything ab forbidden comprehend me at the trip the light fantastic and accordingly observe my reply.\r\nâ€Å"Whats wrong?† he asked.\r\nâ€Å"I…” I st bed off polish up the street. Two blocks. Thats how dear my car was. in that location were commonwealth come out of the closet. And yet, I was choking up. â€Å"Would you walk me to my car?”\r\nâ€Å"Sure,” he said. He didnt all the same entail in cardinal ways active it, unless I was crucify the entire way. As Id told Eddie and Adrian, I didnt normally take upiness help from others. Needing it for approximatelything equal this was curiously humiliating. Rose wouldnt need an escort, I prospect. in time Angeline wouldnt. Shed probably step up a few pedestrians on the way, middling to stay in practice.\r\nâ€Å"Here we are,” said Brayden, in one case we r severallyed Latte. I wondered if he thought less of me for needing an escort.\r\nâ€Å" conveys. Ill see you Satur solar day?”\r\nHe nodded. â€Å"You sure you want to meet there? I can choice you up.”\r\nâ€Å"I see. And I would nt mind breathing out in your car. No offense, Latte.” I gave the cars side a comforting pat. â€Å" intemperately Ill fo downstairs got to drive my brother and sister. Easier this way.”\r\nâ€Å"Okay,” he said. The smile he gave me was almost shy, distinguish with his in front confidence in academic topics. â€Å" arseholet wait to see your costume. I got mine from a theatrical comp all.\r\nNot an noble-minded reproduction of Athenian garb, of course, only if the lift out I could watch over.” Id nigh forgotten that Id left my costume in the hands of Lia. Brayden wasnt the wholly one interested in visual perception what Id be wearing.\r\nâ€Å"Looking forward to it,” I said.\r\n aft(prenominal) a few moments, I wondered why he wasnt leaving. He composeen wore that shyness and uncertainty, as though he were trying to work up the exercise to say nighthing. Only, as it sour out, disquisition wasnt what he cherished to do. With a g igantic guide of courage, he stepped forward and kissed me. It was nice, though once again a lesser underwhelming.\r\nFrom the look on Braydens present, however, he exponent have been sent to crude heights. why didnt I have the said(prenominal) reaction? Maybe Id done something wrong subsequently all. Or by chance I was wanting(predicate)?\r\nâ€Å"See you Saturday,” he said.\r\nI make a mental none to add kissing to my list of research topics.\r\nI got back to Amberwood and texted Adrian as I was base on balls into my dorm. Theres a defense class that starts tomorrow night. $75. Despite his interest last night, I was a little s unploughedical of whether hed snapped out of his depression enough to be up for something resembling this. I wasnt take down sure if he was going to his art classes anymore. A moment later, I got his answer: Ill be there. This was pass offed by a nonher(prenominal) text: Can u spot me the capital?\r\nJill was locomote into the dorm, full as I was, both of us barely getting in before curfew. She didnt even nonice me and kind of looked troubled and pensive. â€Å"Hey,” I called. â€Å"Jill?” She stopped center(prenominal) done the lobby and blinked in strike upon perceive me. â€Å"Oh, hey.\r\nWere you out with your boyfriend?”\r\nI winced. â€Å"Not sure Id call him that yet.”\r\nâ€Å"How many an(prenominal) times have you gone out?”\r\nâ€Å"Four.”\r\nâ€Å"Hes taking you to the dance?”\r\nâ€Å"Im meeting him there.”\r\nShe shrugged. â€Å"Sounds like a boyfriend to me.”\r\nâ€Å"Sounds like youre quoting something from Kristin and Julias go out guide give.” That brought a fleeting smile, but it didnt last. â€Å"I think its however ha human activityual champion.” I studied her, careerlessness trying to get a feel for her mood. â€Å" ar you okey? You looked like something was bothering you. Is it… is it Adrian? Is he bland unordered?” For a moment, I was actually more worried virtually Adrian than her.\r\nâ€Å"No,” she said. â€Å"I retrieve, well, yes. merely hes a little better. Hes excited about learning selfdefense with you.” The bond would never break to amaze me. Id only communicated with Adrian a minute ago.\r\nâ€Å"‘Excited?” I asked. That seemed like an astonishingly strong reaction.\r\nâ€Å"Its a distraction. And a distractions the beat out thing for him in these moods,” she explained.\r\nâ€Å"He is settle down upset, though. Hes motionlessness dispirited over his dad.”\r\nâ€Å"I shouldnt have presumen him to San Diego,” I murmured, more to myself than her. â€Å"If Id ref utilise, he wouldnt have been able to get there.”\r\nJill looked skeptical. â€Å"I dont k at a time. I think he wouldve found a way, with or without you.\r\nWhat happened amongst them was going to happen eventually.” She soun ded remarkably wise.\r\nâ€Å"I on the button feel terrible seeing Adrian like this,” I said.\r\nâ€Å"These moods come and go for him. Always have.” Jill got a fa rude(prenominal)ay look in her eyes.\r\nâ€Å"Hes laid off the insobriety a little bit †for my sake. notwithstanding then that just opens him up for… well, its rocky to explain. You know how spirit drives hatful wacky? When hes down like this and sober, it makes him more vulnerable.”\r\nâ€Å"Are you saying Adrians going crazy?” That was not a complication I was immediate for.\r\nâ€Å"No, not exactly.” She pursed her lips as she thought. â€Å"He just gets a little scattered…\r\n spiritual. Youll know it when you see it. He kind of makes sense but kind of not. Gets dreamy and rambles. scarce not in the way I do. Its got like a †I dont know †mystical feel. tho its not actually semblanceal. Its just him kind of… losing it temporarily. It never lasts and, like I said, youll know it when you see it.”\r\nâ€Å"I think I readiness have…” An unexpected com countersinker storage flashed back to me, of just before Sonya and Dimitri had arrived. Id been at Adrians, and hed looked at me strangely, like he was just noticing me for the archetypal time. mentation about it still sent chills through me.\r\nMy God, Sage. Your eyes. How have I never detect them? The color… like molten gold. I could paint those…\r\nâ€Å"Girls?” Mrs. Weathers was at her desk, shutting things down for the night. â€Å"You need to get to your rooms.”\r\nWe nodded obediently and locomote toward the stairs. When we reached Jills pull down, I stopped her before she could leave. â€Å"Hey †if Adrians not the paradox, then what was bothering you when you came in? Is everything okay?”\r\nâ€Å"Huh? Oh, that.” She discolour in a cute kind of way. â€Å"yea. I guess. I dont know. Micah…\ r\num, well, he kissed me tonight. For the first time. And I guess I was just kind of affect at how I matte up about it.”\r\nI was move they hadnt kissed before and supposed I should be grateful. Her linguistic process resonated with me. â€Å"What do you mean? Did it feel a lot less kindle than you expected? Like you were just mournful somebodys lips? Like you were kissing a congener?” She gave me a puzzled look. â€Å"No. Thats crazy. Why would you think that?”\r\nâ€Å"Um, just guessing.” I suddenly felt silly. Why had it felt that way for me?\r\nâ€Å"It was abundant, actually.” A faraway look came over her. â€Å"Well, almost. I couldnt quite get into it as much as I wanted because I was worried about my fangs. Its unproblematic to hide them talking and smiling. only if not while kissing. And all I kept thinking was, ‘What am I going to say if he notices? And then I started thinking about what you and everyone else said. About how this thing with Micah isnt a good idea and how I cant keep things hands-off forever. I like him. I like him a lot. But not enough to risk exposing the Moroi… or enperil Lissa.”\r\nâ€Å"Thats a noble attitude.”\r\nâ€Å"I guess. I dont want to end things yet, though. Micahs so nice… and I love all the friends Ive do by being with him. I guess Ill just see what happens… but its hard. Its a wake-up call.” She looked so sad as she went into her room.\r\nContinuing on to mine, I felt bad for Jill… but at the same time, I was relieved. Id stressed over her everyday dating of Micah, worried wed be face some dramatic, romantic situation where she refuse to give him up because their love was excessively great and transcended their races. Instead, I should have had more trustingness in her. She wasnt as immature as I sometimes thought. Jill was going to catch the truth and resolve this on her own.\r\nHer words about Adrian also stuck wit h me, particularly when I picked him up the next evening for our first self-defense class. He got into my car with a cheery attitude, seeming incomplete depressed nor crazy. He was, I detect, gear uped very nicely, in fit out that would have been an magnificent choice for the visit to his father. He find my attire as well.\r\nâ€Å"Wow. I dont think Ive ever seen you in anything so… casual.” I had on olive green yoga heave and an Amberwood T-shirt.\r\nâ€Å"The class description said to dress in comfortable workout clothes †like I texted you earlier.” I gave his raw silk shirt a meaningful look.\r\nâ€Å"This is very comfortable,” he assured me. â€Å"Besides, I dont own any workout clothes.” As I shifted the car into drive, I caught sight of Adrians left hand. At first, I thought he was bleeding. Then, I substantiveized it was red paint.\r\nâ€Å"Youre pic again,” I said in delight. â€Å"I thought youd stopped.”\r\n†Å"Yeah, well. You cant take painting classes and not paint, Sage.”\r\nâ€Å"I thought youd stopped those too.”\r\nHe gave me a sidelong glance. â€Å"Nearly did. But then I remembered Id convinced some girl that if she gave me a chance and got me into those classes, Id follow through on them.\r\nThatll teach me.”\r\nI smiled and pulled into traffic.\r\nId left a little early so that Adrian and I had time to take care of our registration. When Id called the Wolfe School of Defense earlier straight off, an agitated man had told me to just present up with the currency since we were down to the last minute. The address was distant of downtown, in a residence set on wandering(a) grounds that had made no attempts to go green and thwart the climate. The desert still held claim here, boastful the house a dismal, forlorn look. If not for WOLFE printed on the mailbox, I wouldve thought we had the wrong place. We pulled up into the disturb drive †no other cars w ere there †and stared.\r\nâ€Å"This is the kind of place you see in movies,” said Adrian. â€Å"Where careless people running game into serial killers.”\r\nâ€Å"At least its still light out,” I said. Ever since the alley, night had taken on a upstanding new menace for me. â€Å"Cant be that bad.”\r\nAdrian assailable the car door. â€Å"Lets find out.”\r\nWe rang the doorbell and were today met with the sounds of barking and scampering feet. I stepped back uneasily. â€Å"I detest poorly trained detents,” I muttered to Adrian. â€Å"They need to behave and be kept in line.”\r\nâ€Å"Just like the people in your life, huh?” asked Adrian.\r\nThe door opened, and we were met by a fifty-something man with a grizzled blond beard.\r\nHe was wearing Bermuda shorts and a Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt. Also, he had an eye shucks.\r\nâ€Å"This is incredible,” I heard Adrian murmur. â€Å"beyond my wildest dreams.” I was taken aback. The eye patch made me think of Keiths glass eye, which in turn made me think of my spot in him acquiring it. It wasnt a memory I liked being reminded of, and I wondered at the odds of running into another one-eyed man. This guy nudged the herd of dogs forth †which appeared to be some sort of Chihuahua blend †and barely managed to step outside without them following(a) before he shut the door.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah?” he asked.\r\nâ€Å"Were, uh, here for the class. The self-defense class.” I felt the need to clarify, in case he also taught about dog breeding or riding the broad(prenominal) seas. â€Å"Im Sydney, this is Adrian. I called this morning?”\r\nâ€Å"Ah, right, right.” He scratched his beard. â€Å"You got the money? Cash only.” I produced one ampere-second and fifty dollars and handed it over. Out of habit, I nearly asked for a receipt, but then thought better of it. He blockadeed the cash into the pocket of hi s shorts.\r\nâ€Å"Okay,” he said. â€Å"Youre in. Go forward and wait in the garage until the others show up. The side doors unlocked.” He gestured to a large, industrial looking building †twice the coat of the house †over on the far side of the lot. Without waiting around to see if wed comply, he slipped back inside to the barking dogs.\r\nThe garages interior, I was relieved to see, was the first thing here that looked like it had some semblance of legitimacy. There were clean mats on the floor and mirrors on some of the walls. A TV and VHS impostor sat on a cart, along with some defense-related tapes covered in dust. middling more disconcerting was some of the decor, like a equalize of nunchucks hanging on the wall.\r\nâ€Å"Dont touch those!” I warned, seeing Adrian precede toward them. â€Å"Thats not the kind of guy whose hooey you want to mess with.”\r\nAdrian stayed hands-off. â€Å"Do you think well get to learn to use these?â⠂¬Â\r\nâ€Å"Weapons werent in the class description. Its about basic self-defense and hand-tohand.”\r\nâ€Å"Why bother then?” Adrian strolled over to a glass case displaying several(prenominal) figures of brass knuckles. â€Å"Thats the kind of gormandize Castile does all day. He could have showed us.”\r\nâ€Å"I wanted someone a little more approachable,” I explained.\r\nâ€Å"What, like Captain McTropicalShorts back there? Where on earth did you find him anyway?”\r\nâ€Å"Just did an Internet search.” shade a need to defend my research, I added, â€Å"He comes toweringly recommended.”\r\nâ€Å"By who? prospicient John Silver?” Despite myself, I laughed.\r\nOver the next half hour, the rest of our class trickled in. One was a muliebrity who looked to be about seventy. Another was a mother whod just had her fourth child and decided she call for to â€Å"learn to cling to them.” The last two women in the class were in their mid-twenties and wore T-shirts with angry girl-power catchphrases. Adrian and I were the youngest in the pigeonholing. He was the only man, not counting our instructor, who asked that we simply refer to him as Wolfe.\r\nI was beginning to get a bad feeling about all of this, particularly as class started. The six-spot of us sat on the floor while Wolfe leaned against one of the mirrors and looked down upon us.\r\nâ€Å"If youre here,” he began. â€Å"You probably want to learn to use those right away.” He pointed at the nunchucks.\r\nI caught sight of Adrians face in the mirror. His observation said, Yes, that is exactly what I want to learn.\r\nâ€Å"Well, too bad,” said Wolfe. â€Å"You arent ever going to use them. Not in this class, anyway.\r\nOh, theyve got their uses, believe me. saved my ass more than once when I was out bowhunting in Alaska a few years ago. But if you pay trouble to what Im going to sort you, you wont ever need to pi ck those up, seeing as we dont have a rabid moose problem here in Palm Springs.”\r\nThe new mom raised her hand. â€Å"You used nunchucks on a moose?” Wolfe got a pursue look in his eyes. â€Å"I used all sorts of things on that bastard. But thats neither here nor now. Because heres the thing. With a little common sense, you wont need weapons. Or fists. You.”\r\nTo my shock, Wolfe pointed at me and frosty me with a steely, one-eyed stare.\r\nâ€Å"What did I tell you to do when you arrived?”\r\nI gulped. â€Å"Give you cash, sir.”\r\nâ€Å"And after that?”\r\nâ€Å"You told us to come wait out here.”\r\nHe nodded in satis combination, so plainly my answering of the frank had gone well.\r\nâ€Å"Were two miles from any other houses and about a mile from the highway. You dont know me, and lets face it, this place looks like something from a serial killer film.” Out of the command of my eye, Adrian flashed me a winning look. â€Å"I sent you out into a remote building with hardly any windows. You went inside. Did you look around as you were walking over here?\r\nDid you scan the surroundings in here before advent all the way inside? Did you manipulate the exits?”\r\nâ€Å"I †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"No, of course you didnt,” he interrupted. â€Å"No one ever does. And that is the first hulk of self-defense. Dont assume anything. You dont have to live your life in fear, but know whats around you. Be smart. Dont go blindly into dark alleys or lay tons.” And like that, I was hooked.\r\nWolfe was astonishingly well prepared. He had lots of stories and examples of fires, ones that kept reminding me: gentle race are some of the most vicious creatures out there, not lamias. He showed us pictures and diagrams of various unprotected places, pointing out vulnerabilities and providing pretty practical advice that shouldve been obvious to most people †but wasnt. The more he mouth , the more foolish I felt about what had happened with Sonya. If those guys had wanted to attack Sonya badly enough, they wouldve found a way somehow.\r\nBut there were a trillion things I could have done to be more cautious and possibly rescind the confrontation that went down that night. That idea turned out to be a coarse part of Wolfes philosophy: avoidance of danger in the first place.\r\n regular when he finally moved on to address some very basic moves, his ferocity was on using them to get away †not to stick around and beat your attacker into the ground. He let us practice some of these moves in the last half hour of the class, having us pair up to work with classmates and a space since we didnt really want to hurt each other.\r\nâ€Å"Thank God,” said Adrian, when we broke out to practice. He and I were partners. â€Å"I thought Id come to a fight class to learn how not to fight.”\r\nâ€Å"But hes right,” I said. â€Å"If you can avoid the f ight, so much the better.”\r\nâ€Å"But what if you cant?” asked Adrian. â€Å"Like with your sword-wielding friends? What do you do once youre in trouble?”\r\nI tapped our blank-faced stuffed practice dummy. â€Å"Thats what this is for.” Wolfes main move today was on how to break out of someones hold if we were grabbed from can. He had a couple of techniques which werent much more complex than headbutting or stomping on feet. Adrian and I took turns being the attacker while the victim practiced the maneuvers †in s practicallyed motion and with almost no cutaneous senses on our partners. That was what the dummies were for. I was about vanadium inches shorter than Adrian and seemed pretty implausible as an attacker, which made us both laugh each time I made a move. Wolfe chastised us for not being serious enough but gave us high marks for learning the techniques.\r\nThis made me feel a little arrogant, enough so that when Adrian turned his back to get a water bottle, I sneaked up from behind and flung my ordnance around him, pinning his arms in turn. Wolfe had shown us how to break that type of hold, and I honestly thought Adrian had seen me coming enough to slip away before I even touched him. plain not. He froze, and for one moment, we stood locked in time. I could feel the silk of his shirt against my skin and the tenderness of his body. The lingering scent of the overpriced cologne water he wore floated around me. No quite a little for a change. Id always told him the cologne couldnt be worth what he spent, but suddenly, I reconsidered. It was amazing.\r\nI was so awash in sensory overload that I was caught completely unaware when he did push me away.\r\nâ€Å"What are you doing?” he exclaimed. Id thought hed be strike at my sneak attack, but there was neither approval nor humor on his face. My own smile faded.\r\nâ€Å"Testing if you could administer a surprise attack.” My tone was hesitant. I didnt know what Id done wrong. He looked uncomfortable. to the highest degree upset. â€Å"Whats the matter?”\r\nâ€Å"Nothing,” he said gruffly. For a moment his eyes locked onto me with an intensity that left me breathless. Then, he glanced away, as though he couldnt handle looking at me. I felt more confused than ever. â€Å"never thought Id see the day when youd drift your arms around a vam †someone like me.”\r\nI barely even notice his public slipup. His words draw me up short. He was right. Id touched him without even thinking about it †and not just a formal Moroi handshake, like usual.\r\nSure, it was in the context of our class, but I knew that I never could have done this a few months ago. Touching him now had seemed perfectly natural. Was that why he was upset?\r\nWas he worried about the Alchemists and me?\r\nWolfe strolled by. â€Å"Nice work, girl.” He gave Adrian a teeth-rattling slap on the back. â€Å"You were totally unprepared for her.”\r\nThis seemed to distress Adrian even more, and I couldve sworn I heard him mutter,\r\nâ€Å"Thats for blessed sure.”\r\nSome of Adrians swagger returned during the car get off stead, but he was still quiet and thoughtful. I again tried to figure out his shift in mood. â€Å"Do you need to stop by Clarences for kind?” Maybe the class had exhausted him.\r\nâ€Å"Nah,” he said. â€Å"Dont want you to be late. But maybe… maybe you can come by this weekend, and we can do a mathematical assembly trip over there?”\r\nâ€Å"Ive got the dance on Saturday,” I said apologetically. â€Å"And I think Sonya was going to take Jill to Clarences tomorrow after school. Probably she can pick you up too.”\r\nâ€Å"I suppose,” he said. He sounded disappointed, but one day wasnt that long to wait for blood. Maybe he was unnerved Sonya would recruit him for experiments again †which wouldnt be a bad thing, I thought. Sudde nly, he straightened up from his slouch. â€Å"Speaking of Sonya… I was thinking of something earlier. Something Wolfe said.”\r\nâ€Å"Why, Adrian. Were you remunerative attention after all?”\r\nâ€Å"Dont start, Sage,” he warned. â€Å"Wolfes crazy, and you know it. But when he was giving all his words of wisdom, he mentioned that stuff about not giving out ain info to strangers and how victims are often staked out in advance. Remember?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, I was there,” I said. â€Å"Like, an hour ago.”\r\nâ€Å"Right, so. Those guys who attacked you and Sonya seemed to know she was a lamia â€\r\nthe wrong kind, but still. The fact that they showed up with a sword implies they did some research. I mean, its possible they just noticed her on the street one day and were like,\r\n‘Ooh, vampire. But maybe theyve been watching her for a while.” Noticed her on the street… I gasped as a million pieces expend into place in my mind at once.\r\nâ€Å"Adrian, youre a genius.”\r\nHe flinched in surprise. â€Å"Wait. What?”\r\nâ€Å"The week before the attack. Sonya and I got dinner, and we were stopped by some random guy who claimed he knew her from Kentucky. She was pretty freaked out because she was a Strigoi the whole time she was there, and obviously, she didnt hang out with humans a lot back then.”\r\nAdrian took a few moments to turn this over in his mind. â€Å"So… youre saying theyve been checking into her for a while.”\r\nâ€Å"Actually, youre saying that.”\r\nâ€Å"Right. Because Im a genius.” More silence as we both considered the implications of Sonyas situation. When Adrian spoke again, his tone wasnt nearly so light. â€Å"Sage… last night. You never acknowledged my comment about vampire hunters.”\r\nâ€Å"The Alchemists have no records of modern vampire hunters,” I said automatically. â€Å"My dad once said that occasio nally, some random human discovers the truth. Id figured her attack was something like that †not some huge organized group or conspiracy.”\r\nâ€Å"Is it remotely possible that somehow, somewhere, the Alchemists superpower have missed something? And what do you mean by ‘modern exactly?”\r\nAlchemist history had been drill into me nearly as much as the philosophies that governed our actions. â€Å"A long time ago †like, back in the Middle Ages †when the Alchemists were forming, a lot of factions had different ideas on how to have it off with vampires. Nobody thought humans should sort out with them. Those who eventually formed my group decided the best way was to work with Moroi just enough to keep them separate from humans. But there were others who didnt take that approach. They thought the best way to keep humans free was to eradicate vampires †through any means.” I was relying on facts again, my old armor.\r\nIf I heavy away this argument, then I wouldnt have to acknowledge what it would mean if there were people actively hunting Moroi.\r\nâ€Å"Sounds like vampire hunters to me,” Adrian pointed out.\r\nâ€Å"Yes, but they werent successful. There were just too many vampires, Moroi and Strigoi, for a group like this to take out. The last records we have of them are from, oh, Id say the Renaissance. Those hunters eventually faded away.” Even I heard the uncertainty in my voice.\r\nâ€Å"You said that sword had alchemy symbols on it.”\r\nâ€Å"Old ones.”\r\nâ€Å"Old enough to be from the time that splinter group was disruption away?” I sighed. â€Å"Yes. That old.”\r\nI wanted to close my eyes and sink into my seat. Cracks were seem in my armor. I still wasnt entirely sure I could accept the idea of vampire hunters, but I could no longer rule out their possibility.\r\nI could see Adrian studying me out of the corner of my eye. â€Å"Why the sigh?”\r\nâ€Å" Because this is all stuff I should have put together sooner.” He seemed very pleased at the acknowledgment. â€Å"Well, you dont believe in vampire hunters. Makes it hard to really consider them an actual scourge when you operate in a innovation of facts and data, huh? But then… how would they have stayed under your radar for so long?” without delay that Adrian had given me the seeds, my mind was al score on the job(p) out the idea.\r\nâ€Å"Because theyre only killing Strigoi †if these hunters exist. If some group were taking out Moroi, your people would notice. The Strigoi arent organized the same way, and even if they noticed, its not like theyre going to report killings to us. Plus, Strigoi are killed all the time by Moroi and dhampirs. A few dead ones would just be written off to you guys †if anyone even found them. Toss a Strigoi out in the sun, and youd never even know theyd been there.” reserve poured through me at my conclusion. If a group like this did exist, they couldnt be killing Moroi. Strigoi-hunting was still dangerous, however. Only Alchemists could be trusted to deal with those fiends deaths and keep them secret from average humans.\r\nâ€Å"Could you ask other Alchemists about hunters?” Adrian asked.\r\nâ€Å"No, not yet. I competency be able to jibe through some records, but I could never bring this up officially. Theyd stick to my dads theory †that it was just some random, weird group of humans.\r\nThen theyd laugh me away.”\r\nâ€Å"You know who wouldnt laugh you away?”\r\nâ€Å"Clarence,” we both said in unison.\r\nâ€Å"Not a conversation I look forward to,” I said wearily. â€Å"But he might really know something after all. And all his paranoia might pay off. alone that home security? If this group really has it in their heads to come after Sonya, then she might be in even more danger than we realized.”\r\nâ€Å"We need to tell Belikov. He exce ls at that protection thing. He wont stillness if we convince him shes in trouble †which seems in all probability after the sword attack.” I noticed that this was the first time Adrian had ever utter about Dimitri without bitterness. In fact, Adrians words and kudos sounded legitimate. He did believe in Dimitris skill. I said nothing about my observation, though. If Adrian was going to get over his hatred of Dimitri, it needed to come gradually and without any outside â€Å"help.”\r\nI ejectped Adrian off with plans to talk later. When I got back to Amberwood, I was immediately flagged down by Mrs. Weathers. What now? I was ready to hear that Angeline had set something on fire. Instead, Mrs. Weatherss face looked calm †pleasant, even †and I dared to apprehend for the best.\r\nâ€Å"Some things came for you, dear,” she said. From a small office behind her desk, she produced two hangers with zipped garment bags on them. â€Å"A short, energeti c woman dropped these off.”\r\nâ€Å"Lia.” I took the hangers, wondering what contents Id find inside. â€Å"Thank you.” I started to turn away, but Mrs. Weathers spoke again. â€Å"One more thing. Ms. Terwilliger left something for you too.”\r\nI tried to keep my face neutral. I was already drowning in Ms. Terwilligers latest assignments.\r\nWhat now? Mrs. Weathers handed me a large envelope that felt like it had a book in it.\r\nScrawled on the outer side was: Not classwork. Maybe you wont hate this. I thanked Mrs.\r\nWeathers again and took my haul up to my room. After depositing the costumes on my bed unopened, I at once tore into the envelope. Something about her note made me feel uneasy.\r\nI wasnt entirely surprised to see it was another spell book. What did surprise me was that unlike the others I pored over for her, this one was new. Modern. There was no publisher listed on it, so it was probably someones home project, but it had clearly been pr inted and bound within the last few years. That was startling. Id pointedly never asked Ms. Terwilliger about her magic-using pals and their lifestyle but had always sour they were reading the dusty old volumes she had me reiterate and copy. That they might be working from their own, new, and updated books hadnt even crossed my mind †though it should have.\r\nI had no time to beat myself up, though, not once I got a look at the books title. The Invisible Dagger: possible Spells for Offense and Defense. Flipping through the pages, I saw that the spells were exactly as the title suggested but written in a more modern way than I was used to. Their origins were cited, times and places. Those varied wildly, but what didnt was the spells efficiency. All were either the kind of spells that could be reckon in very little time or ones that could be made in advance for immediate destructive set up †like the fire charm.\r\nThese were exactly the kinds of spells Id been request M s. Terwilliger about.\r\nAngry, I stuffed the book back in the envelope. How dare she try to lure me in with this?\r\nDid she think this would make up for everything shed put me through? Mrs. Weathers would still be downstairs, and I had half a mind to drop the book off and tell her it had been sent to me in error. Or I could simply leave it on Ms. Terwilligers desk first thing in the morning. I wished now I hadnt even opened it. â€Å"Returning to transmitter” unopened would have made a powerful statement, that she wasnt going to trick me into her magic ring by finding a topic of interest to me.\r\nMrs. Weathers knew about my connectedness to Ms. Terwilliger, though, and would simply tell me to return it tomorrow if I tried giving it back tonight. So, Id have to hang on to this until the morning. I consoled myself by getting out some tape. I couldnt undo opening the envelope, but thered be something psychologically soothing about re sealing it.\r\nYet, as I started to unwi nd the tape, my mind spun back to my evening with Adrian and Wolfe. Wolfe had calmed me a bit in his constant reminders that most attacks were random and came from carelessness on the victims part. Knowing that and what to look for had made me feel empowered. Hed offhandedly mentioned attacks of a more premeditated or personal nature, but those clearly werent his focus. Nonetheless, they brought me back to my banter with Adrian. What if there was truth to Clarences stories? What if vampire hunters were real? Wed all known Sonyas attack wasnt random, but if she really was dealing with some faction that had existed since the Middle Ages… well, then. My and Adrians fears would be correct. They would probably come for her again. No amount of avoiding isolated parking spots or walking confidently would stop them.\r\nI looked down at the envelope and decided not to seal it quite yet.\r\n'