The Indigo Spell (21 page)

“Hey,” I said, taking a seat beside him. He actually looked nervous. “Off to study?”

“Meeting with Angeline, actually.”

There was no escaping her today, but at least if she was working on math, it seemed
unlikely she’d be staging a coup or committing arson. His troubled expression concerned
me, though.

“She . . . she didn’t hit you again?” I didn’t see any noticeable marks, but with
her, you could never tell.

“Huh? No, no. Not recently.” He hesitated before speaking again. “Melbourne, how long
are you going to need me to do this?”

“I don’t know.” Mostly I’d been focusing on getting her through the present, not the
future. One thing at a time. “She’ll have her final coming up before break. If she
passes, then I guess you’re home free. Unless you want to keep up with it after break—I
mean, provided she doesn’t wear you out.”

This startled him a lot more than I would have expected. “Okay. Good to know.”

He looked so forlorn when he left to go to the library that I wondered if those chemistry
answers had really been worth it. I liked Trey. I’d never thought inflicting Angeline
on him would so radically alter his life. I guessed that was just the kind of effect
she had on the world.

I watched him walk away for a few more seconds and then turned toward the science
building. One of the teachers, Ms. Whittaker, was an amateur botanist who was always
happy to supply Ms. Terwilliger with various plants and herbs. She thought Ms. Terwilliger
used them for home craft projects, like potpourri and candles, and I frequently had
to pick up the latest supplies. When I walked into her classroom today, Ms. Whittaker
was grading exams at her desk.

“Hi, Sydney,” she said, barely looking up. “I set it all over there, on the far counter.”

“Thanks, ma’am.”

I walked over and was surprised to practically find a spice cabinet. Ms. Terwilliger
had requested all sorts of leaves, stems, and clippings. It was the most I’d ever
had to pick up for her.

“She sure had a big order this time,” Ms. Whittaker remarked, as though sensing my
thoughts. “Is she really using garlic in potpourri?”

“Oh, that’s for some, um, cooking she’s doing. You know, holidays and all.”

She nodded and returned to her work. One thing that often helped in Alchemist affairs
(and witch ones) was that people rarely expected supernatural reasons for weird behaviors
and phenomena.

I almost considered visiting Trey and Angeline at the library, just to assess her
behavior myself, but decided it’d be better to not get involved. Eddie and Jill would
handle it. With nothing else to do, I dared to hope I might actually just be able
to stay inside and read today. But, when I returned to my dorm, I was greeted with
the astonishing sight of Marcus sitting outside on a bench, playing an acoustic guitar.
A group of four girls stood around, listening in awe. I walked up to the circle, my
arms crossed over my chest.

“Really?” I asked.

Marcus glanced up and shot me a grin. One of the girls actually cooed.

“Hey, Sydney.”

Four sets of eyes turned to me, displaying a mix of both disbelief and jealousy. “Hey,”
I said. “You’re the last person I expected to see here.”

“I never do what’s predictable.” He tossed his hair back and started to put his guitar
back in its case. “Sorry, girls. Sydney and I have to talk.”

I got more of those stares, which kind of annoyed me. Was it really that unbelievable
that a good-looking guy would want to talk to me? His followers dispersed reluctantly,
and Marcus and I strolled around the grounds.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in hiding?” I asked. “Not panhandling with your guitar?”

“I never asked them for money. Besides, I’m incognito today.” He tapped his cheek,
and I noticed the tattoo was barely noticeable.

“Are you wearing makeup?” I asked.

“Don’t judge,” he said. “It lets me move around more freely. Sabrina helped color
match me.”

We came to a halt in a relatively private copse of trees. “So why are you here? Why
didn’t you call or text?”

“Because I have a delivery.” He reached into his shirt pocket and handed me a folded
piece of paper that looked like it had traveled around the world before reaching me.
When I opened it and managed to smooth it out, I saw several painstakingly drawn diagrams.
I jerked my gaze back to him.

“Wade’s floor plans.”

“As promised.” A little of that self-satisfaction faded, and he actually looked impressed.
“You’ve really got a way to get to St. Louis?”

“Sanctioned and everything,” I said. “I mean, aside from the part where I break into
their servers. But I’ve got a few ideas on how to pull that off.”

He laughed. “Of course you do. I won’t bother asking. Every girl’s got her secrets.
Maybe someday you’ll share yours.” From the tone of his voice, he might have been
talking about non-professional secrets. “Once this is all over.”

“Is it ever over?” I asked. I meant it as a joke, but it came out sounding a bit more
melancholy than I would’ve liked.

He gave me a long, level look. “No, not really. But getting the tattoo sealed in Mexico
is kind of fun. I hope you’ll go with us. At the very least, we can take in some beaches
and margaritas while undoing insidious magic. Do you own a bikini?”

“No. And I don’t drink.”

“Well, maybe one of these days we could go out for coffee. I know you drink that.”

“I’m pretty busy,” I said, thinking of everything weighing on me. “And you know, I
also haven’t decided if I’m going to do the first phase of tattoo breaking.”

“You should, Sydney.” He was all business again and tapped my cheek. “If nothing else,
do that. Don’t let them have any more control over you than they have to. I know you
think we’re a little out there, but this is one thing we’re absolutely serious about.”

“Hi, Sydney.”

I glanced over and saw my friend Julia Cavendish carrying a huge stack of books. A
couple seconds later, Marcus looked up at her too. Her eyes went wide, and she stumbled
and dropped everything she was carrying. She flushed.

“Oh, God. I’m such an idiot.”

I started to help her, but Marcus was by her side in a flash, his movie star grin
firmly in place. “Happens to the best of us. I’m Dave.”

“J-Julia,” she said. In all the time I’d known her, I’d never seen her flustered around
a guy. She usually ate them for breakfast.

“There we are.” He handed her the books, all neatly stacked.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do that. I mean, it was my own fault.
I’m not usually that clumsy. And I’m sure you’re busy. You must have lots to do. Obviously.”
I’d also never heard Julia ramble.

Marcus patted her on the back, and I thought she might pass out. “Always happy to
help a beautiful damsel in distress.” He nodded in my direction. “I’ve got to go.
Sydney, I’ll be in touch.”

I nodded back. As soon as he walked away, Julia dropped the books again and hurried
over to me. “Sydney, you have to tell me who that is.”

“He already did. Dave.”

“Yes, but
who is he
?” She gripped my arm and seemed on the verge of shaking answers out of me.

“Just a guy I know.” I thought about it more. “A friend, I guess.”

Her breath caught. “You guys aren’t—I mean—”

“What? No! Why would you think that?”

“Well, he’s gorgeous,” she said, as though that were enough to make us soul mates.
“Don’t you want to just rip his clothes off?”

“Whoa, no way.”

“Really?” She scrutinized me, like I might be joking. “Not even a little?”

“Nope.”

She stepped back and started picking up her books. “Jeez, Syd. I don’t know what to
think of you sometimes. I mean, I’m glad he’s available—he is available, right?—but
I’d be all over that if I were you.”

Jill’s words came back to me, about how he was human and had “that rebel Alchemist”
thing going for him. Maybe I should start considering him or another ex-Alchemist
as a romantic option. Having someone who wasn’t a forbidden vampire in my life would
make things a lot easier. I tried to dredge up the same reaction other girls had around
Marcus, but nothing happened. No matter how hard I tried, I just didn’t have that
same attraction. His hair was too blond, I decided. And his eyes needed a little more
green.

“Sorry,” I told Julia. “Just not feeling it.”

“If you say so. I still think you’re crazy. That’s the kind of guy you’d follow to
hell and back.”

All romantic musings disappeared, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as we
slowly headed back toward the dorm. Hell was a good analogy for what I would be walking
into. “You actually might be closer to the truth on that than you realize.”

She brightened. “See? I knew you couldn’t resist.”

MS. TERWILLIGER WAS WAITING
in the lobby when Julia and I returned to the dorm. “Seriously. Do you have a tracking
device on me?” I asked. Julia took one look at our teacher’s serious expression and
quickly made an exit.

“Just excellent timing,” Ms. Terwilliger replied. “I understand you have news.”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

Ms. Terwilliger’s face was hard as she led me back outside to more privacy and yet
another top secret outdoor meeting. These days, she hardly resembled the scattered,
hippie teacher I’d met when I first started at Amberwood. “Tell me the news,” she
ordered.

I told her about Alicia’s call, and her dismayed expression didn’t really inspire
me. I’d kind of hoped she’d reveal some amazing, foolproof plan she’d secretly been
concocting.

“Well, then,” she said once I’d finished. “I suppose I’ll have to go out there.”

“
I’ll
go out there,” I corrected.

She favored me with a small smile. “You’ve done more than enough. It’s time I step
up and deal with Veronica.”

“But you sent me to that place before.”

“When we weren’t even sure where it was or what she was doing there. This time, we
have an eyewitness confirming she’s there right now. I can’t waste this opportunity.”
She glanced at a clock near the door and sighed. “I’d go tonight if I could but haven’t
made the necessary preparations. I’ll start working on them now and go in tomorrow
evening. Hopefully I won’t miss her again.”

“No.” The defiance in my voice surprised even me. I didn’t contradict teachers—or
any kind of authority—very often. Okay, never. “She eluded us before. Let us scout
it out. You don’t want to tip your hand yet, just in case something goes wrong. You’ll
be ready tomorrow night? Then let us go in the day . . . I mean, provided someone
could get me out of school. . . .”

A little of that tension faded, and she laughed. “I suppose I could do that. I hate
that I keep putting you in danger, though.”

“We passed that point a long time ago.”

She couldn’t argue against that logic. I made arrangements for Adrian to pick me up
the next day—after first scolding “Jet” for giving out “Taylor’s” number. When morning
came, Ms. Terwilliger was true to her word. I’d been excused from classes for a “research
trip.” The thing about being a star pupil was that none of my teachers had any problems
with me skipping classes. They knew I’d get the work done. I probably could’ve taken
the rest of the semester off.

During the drive, I told Adrian that I’d managed to score a trip to St. Louis in order
to pursue Marcus’s daunting task. Adrian’s expression grew darker and darker, but
he stayed silent on the matter. I knew what a conflict it was for him. He didn’t like
Marcus. He didn’t like me taking on this potentially dangerous mission. However, he
also trusted me to make my own decisions. Contradicting me or telling me what to do
wasn’t in his nature—even though he secretly may have wanted to. His only comment
was one of support.

“Be careful, Sage. For God’s sake, be careful. I’ve seen you pull off some crazy shit,
but this is extreme, even for you. You’re probably the only one who can manage this,
but still . . . don’t let your guard down, even for a moment.”

When I told him about how I was hoping to use Ian to get more in-depth access, Adrian’s
troubled look turned to one of incredulity.

“Hold on here. Let me make sure I’m following this. You’re going to seduce some guy
to help you with your espionage.”

Seduce Ian? Ugh. “Don’t jump to conclusions,” I warned. “I’m just going to try to
use his feelings for me to get what I want.”

“Wow. Cold, Sage. Very cold.”

“Hey, now.” I felt a little indignant at the accusation. “I’m not going to promise
to marry him or something and then dump him later. He wrote me about going to dinner
when I’m there. We’ll have a nice time, and I’ll try to talk him into letting me tour
the facility. That’s it.”

“And ‘talking him into it’ doesn’t involve putting out?”

I glared at him and hoped he could see me in his periphery. “Adrian. Do I really seem
like the kind of person who’d do that?”

“Well—” He stopped, and I suspected he’d held back from some snarky comment. “No,
I suppose not. Certainly not with a guy like him. Did you get a dress?”

Here we were again, Adrian randomly jumping topics. “For dinner and the service? I’ve
got plenty.”

“I guess that answers my question.” He seemed to wage a great mental battle. At last,
he said, “I’m going to give you some advice.”

“Oh no.”

He looked over at me again. “Who knows more about male weakness: you or me?”

“Go on.” I refused to directly answer the question.

“Get a new dress. One that shows a lot of skin. Short. Strapless. Maybe a push-up
bra too.” He actually had the audacity to do a quick assessment of my chest. “Eh,
maybe not. But definitely some high heels.”

“Adrian,” I exclaimed. “You’ve seen how Alchemists dress. Do you think I can really
wear something like that into a church service?”

He was unconcerned. “You’ll make it work. You’ll change clothes or something. But
I’m telling you, if you want to get a guy to do something that might be difficult,
then the best way is to distract him so that he can’t devote his full brainpower to
the consequences.”

“You don’t have a lot of faith in your own gender.”

“Hey, I’m telling you the truth. I’ve been distracted by sexy dresses a lot.”

I didn’t really know if that was a valid argument, seeing as Adrian was distracted
by a lot of things. Fondue. T-shirts. Kittens. “And so, what then? I show some skin,
and the world is mine?”

“That’ll help.” Amazingly, I could tell he was dead serious. “And you’ve gotta act
confident the whole time, like it’s already a done deal. Then make sure when you’re
actually asking for what you want that you tell him you’d be ‘so, so grateful.’ But
don’t elaborate. His imagination will do half the work for you. ”

I shook my head, glad we’d almost reached our destination. I didn’t know how much
more I could listen to. “This is the most ridiculous advice I’ve ever heard. It’s
also kind of sexist too, but I can’t decide who it offends more, men or women.”

“Look, Sage. I don’t know much about chemistry or computer hacking or photosynthery,
but this is something I’ve got a lot of experience with.” I think he meant
photosynthesis
, but I didn’t correct him. “Use my knowledge. Don’t let it go to waste.”

He seemed so earnest that I finally told him I’d consider it, though I had a hard
time imagining myself wearing anything like he’d described. My answer satisfied him,
and he said no more.

When we reached the bed-and-breakfast, I put on the brown wig so that we could be
Taylor and Jet again. I braced myself as we approached the door.

“Who knows what we’re walking into?” I murmured. I’d been very brave while speaking
to Ms. Terwilliger, but the reality that I might be going right up to an evil sorceress
was sinking in. I had yet to develop the ability to sense magic in others, so I could
very well be taken by surprise if she had a way to hide her appearance too. All I
could do was have faith that Adrian’s spirit and Ms. Terwilliger’s charm would mask
me. If Veronica was there, we’d just seem like an ordinary couple. I hoped.

Alicia was reading another magazine when we walked in. She still sported the same
hipster glasses and clutter of gaudy necklaces. Her face lit up when she saw us. “You’re
back.”

Adrian’s arm immediately went around me. “Well, when we heard Veronica was in town
again, we wanted to come see her right away. Right, honeydew?”

“Right,” I said. At least he was going with healthier nicknames today.

“Oh.” Alicia’s sunny smile dimmed a little. “She just left.”

“You have got to be kidding,” I said. How could our luck be this bad? “So, she checked
out?”

“No, she’s still renting out the Velvet Suite. I think she was just running errands.
But. . . .” She turned sheepish. “I may have, uh, ruined the surprise.”

“Oh?” I asked very carefully. I felt Adrian’s hold on me tense, but there was nothing
romantic about it.

“I couldn’t resist. I told her she might have some unexpected visitors soon. Good
visitors,” she added. “I wanted to make sure she didn’t stay out too long.”

“That’s very nice of you,” said Adrian. His smile looked as strained as mine felt.
In trying to “help” us, Alicia might very well have ruined everything.

What did we do now? I was saved from an immediate decision when a middle-aged woman
walked through the door.

“Hello,” she told Alicia. “I wanted to get some information about hosting a wedding
here. For my niece.”

“Of course,” said Alicia, glancing back and forth between all of us. She looked a
little flustered over who to help, and I was quick to jump in.

“Hey,” I said. “Since we’re here, can we look at the Bunny Suite again? We can’t stop
talking about it.”

Alicia frowned. “I thought you were going to the coast for your anniversary?”

“We were,” said Adrian, following my lead. “But then Taylor was thinking about Cottontail
the other night, and we thought we should reconsider.” I had to give him credit for
jumping in and going along with the story I was making up on the spot. Of course,
you’d think he’d remember the name of the fake rabbit
he
had created.

“Hopper,” I corrected.

“Is the Bunny Suite still vacant?” he asked. “We can just take a quick peek in while
you help her.”

Alicia hesitated only a moment before handing over a key. “Sure. Let me know if you
have any questions.”

I took the key and headed toward the stairs with Adrian. Behind us, I could hear the
woman asking if it’d be okay to set up a tent in the backyard and how many hot plates
the inn could hold before it became a fire hazard. Once we were on the second floor
and out of earshot, Adrian spoke. “Let me guess. You want to go prowl through the
Velvet Suite.”

I rewarded him with a grin, pleased that he’d guessed my plan. “Yup. Pretty good idea,
huh? Hopefully Alicia will be distracted for a while.”

“I could have just compelled her,” he reminded me.

“You’re using too much spirit already.”

I found the Velvet Suite and put the key in the lock, hoping Alicia had given us the
master key and not one specifically for the Bunny Suite. When she had shown us around
last time, she’d only used one key. A click told me we’d lucked out and wouldn’t have
to use any metal-burning chemicals today.

We’d seen the Velvet Suite during our last visit, and for the most part, it looked
the same. Velvet bedding, velvet-covered furniture, and even velvet-textured wallpaper.
Only, this time, the room wasn’t in the pristine and unoccupied state as before. Signs
around the room showed recent use. The bed was unmade, and the scent of shampoo from
the bathroom indicated a shower not too long ago.

“Alicia might have been wrong about Veronica checking out,” said Adrian. He opened
drawer after drawer and found nothing. In the closet, he discovered high-heeled shoes
tucked into a corner and a belt on a hanger—things that might be easily missed with
frantic packing. “Someone left here in a hurry.”

My hopes plummeted. In accidentally revealing our “surprise,” Alicia had apparently
scared Veronica into skipping out on the room. We found no sign that Veronica would
actually return, and as Adrian had said, she seemed to have taken off quickly, based
on the kinds of easy-to-forget things that were left behind: a razor in the shower,
a bottle of perfume on the bathroom counter, and a stack of takeout menus on the nightstand.

I sat on the bed and sifted through the menus, not really convinced they’d tell me
much. Chinese, Indian, Mexican. Veronica had diverse tastes, at least. I reached the
bottom of the stack and threw them on the ground.

“She left,” I said. I couldn’t hide from the truth any longer. “That idiot Alicia
tipped her off, and now we’ve lost her again.”

Adrian sat down beside me, his face mirroring my dismay. “We’ll find her. We’ve slowed
her down by hiding the others. Maybe it’ll buy us time until the next full moon so
you can scry again.”

“I hope so,” I said, though I wasn’t optimistic.

He brushed aside the wig’s hair and turned my face toward him. “Everything’s going
to be okay. She doesn’t know about you.”

I knew he was right, but it was hollow comfort. I leaned my head against his shoulder,
wishing I could fix everything. That was my job, right? “All that means is that someone
else could suffer in my place. I don’t want that. I need to stop her once and for
all.”

“So brave.” He gave me a small smile. His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly
stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail
of goose bumps appeared. How did he keep doing this to me? Marcus—who made every girl
in the world swoon—had zero effect on me. But one whisper of a touch from Adrian completely
undid me. “You could give Castile a run for his money,” he added.

“Stop that,” I warned.

“Comparing you to Castile?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” His hands were too dangerous,
as was being with him on a bed. Terrified I might be kissed again, I jerked away,
and the sudden movement caught him by surprise. His fingers got tangled in my hair,
as well as in my two necklaces, which resulted in him snapping both chains and nearly
pulling off the brown wig. I quickly caught the garnet before it could fall off, but
the cross slipped away. Thank God I’d kept the important one on. “No more kissing,”
I warned. I refastened the charm and straightened the wig.

“You mean no more kissing unless it’s a romantic place,” he reminded me. “Are you
saying this place doesn’t scream romance?” He nodded around to our tacky velvet surroundings.
He then picked up the small cross and held it in the air, growing thoughtful as he
studied the way the light played off the gold surface. “You gave this to me once.”