The Indigo Spell (23 page)

“Well . . . I know you’re into simple stuff, but I’ve always got to have some embellishment.”

I ran my finger over the cross’s surface. “Why’d you choose morning glories?”

“Because I’m not the biggest fan of lilies.”

I smiled at that.

When I returned to my dorm room, I laid the necklace out on my dresser. I gave it
one last fond look and then tried to decide how best to spend the rest of my day.
Our trip to Wolfe actually hadn’t taken that long, so I had plenty of time to catch
dinner and make sure I was up to date on my homework. I actually ate with Kristin
and Julia for a change, which was kind of a nice break from the drama of my other
friends. Of course, most of the meal consisted of Julia gushing about “Dave.” By the
end, both she and Kristin were demanding to know when I’d bring him by again.

As the evening pushed on, I began to prepare for my meeting with Ms. Terwilliger.
I wasn’t sure what kind of magic we’d be practicing outdoors but figured I should
be ready for anything. I packed a wide variety of items from my kit and even had the
foresight to bring a granola bar for post-magic fuel. Once everything was in order,
I headed back downstairs. I was nearly out the dorm door when Mrs. Weathers called
out to me.

“Sydney?”

I paused to glance back. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Where are you going? It’s nearly curfew.”

Frowning, I walked over to her desk. “I’m doing an assignment for Ms. Terwilliger.”

Mrs. Weathers looked troubled. “Yes, I know you do that a lot for her . . . but I
haven’t received authorization from her to let you out after hours today.” Her expression
turned apologetic. “I’m sure this is all on the up-and-up, but, well, rules are rules.”

“Of course,” I said. “But she said she’d let you know. Are you sure you didn’t get
anything? A note? A phone call?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m sorry.”

“I understand,” I murmured, though I wasn’t sure I did. Despite her perpetually scattered
nature, Ms. Terwilliger was usually good about this sort of thing. Mrs. Weathers assured
me she’d let me go if Ms. Terwilliger gave the okay by phone, so I returned to my
room and attempted to call her. I went straight to voice mail, and my text went unanswered.
Had something happened to her? Had that magical confrontation I’d been dreading finally
gone down?

I kicked around my dorm room for the next hour or so, letting all my worries eat at
me. Veronica. Marcus. St. Louis. Ms. Terwilliger. The dream. Over and over, I kept
imagining the worst outcome for all of them. Just when I thought I’d go crazy, Ms.
Terwilliger finally returned my call.

“Why didn’t you show up?” she asked as soon as I answered. I felt relieved. She’d
gone to the park. That explained the lack of contact since there was no signal out
there.

“I tried! Mrs. Weathers wouldn’t let me out. You forgot to give me permission.”

“I most certainly didn’t. . . .” Her words trailed off uncertainly. “That is, I thought
I did. . . .”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’ve had a lot on your mind.”

“It’s not okay.” She sounded angry, but it was at herself, not me. “I need to be on
top of this.”

“Well, you can call Mrs. Weathers now,” I said.

“Too late. I’m already back home. We’ll have to attempt this again another time.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I tried.”

Ms. Terwilliger sighed. “I know you did. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I’m letting
all of this wear me down, and now I’m getting sloppy. I’ve already taken too many
risks at your expense, and it’s put Veronica on your trail. I can’t let her get any
farther.”

A chill ran through me as I thought of those comatose girls—and the possibility of
me joining them. I’d been able to stay cool and collected while investigating, but
last night’s dream had driven home the dangers I faced. That image of the girl in
the newspaper hovered in my mind as I held the phone and paced my room. I stopped
in front of a mirror and tried to picture myself like that, aged before my time. I
squeezed my eyes shut and turned away. I couldn’t let that happen to me. I just couldn’t,
and I needed Ms. Terwilliger if I was going to stay safe. Maybe I was a prodigy, but
I was nowhere near being able to take on someone like her sister.

“Get some rest, ma’am,” I said at last. “You sound like you need it.”

“I’ll try. And you be careful, Miss Melbourne.”

“I will.”

Being careful was the only thing I could do on my own for now. I just hoped it would
be enough.

When we got off the phone, I didn’t want to sleep again. I was afraid to, and it wasn’t
just because of the sheer terror I’d felt in last night’s dream. Ms. Terwilliger had
explained there was a type of searching spell that sought people in their sleep, and
I worried that if Veronica reached out to me again, she might get a fix on my location.
The problem was that after last night’s sketchy sleep, I was now even more exhausted.
My usual coffee and distraction tricks failed, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I don’t know how much time passed before I dreamed. One moment I was lost in the oblivion
of sleep. The next, I found myself standing in the room that had hosted Sonya and
Mikhail’s reception. It looked exactly the same: flowers everywhere, tables covered
in white linen and crystal glasses . . . The only difference was that the room was
empty and silent. It was eerie, seeing all that richness and glamour with no one to
enjoy it. I could’ve been in a ghost town. I looked down and saw that I wore the same
dress from that evening as well.

“I could’ve made it red, you know. That’s a better color for you—not that blue looks
bad on you.”

Adrian strode toward me, dressed in the same dark blue suit. Understanding hit me.
I was in a spirit dream. It was another of that element’s incredible feats, the ability
for a spirit user to intrude on someone’s dreams. No—not intrude. The user was actually
able to create the dream itself, controlling every detail.

“It’s been a long time since you pulled me into one of these,” I said.

“And look at the progress you’ve made. Last time you were kicking and screaming.”
He held out a hand. “Want to dance?”

“No music,” I said, not that I had any intention of dancing. He had a point about
my reaction, though. I hadn’t exactly been kicking and screaming, but I had kind of
freaked out. I’d been in full possession of all my fears about vampires and magic,
and being surrounded in a world completely constructed of that magic had left me frightened
and unhinged. And now? Now I had apparently become so comfortable that my biggest
concern was that he’d put me in this dress. I gestured to it.

“Can you change me out of this?”

“You can change yourself out of it,” he said. “I’m letting go of the control. Just
picture yourself the way you are in reality.”

I did exactly that, and a moment later, I wore jeans and a pale blue knit top. This
obviously disappointed him. “That’s what you sleep in?”

“No.” I laughed. “I was trying not to sleep at all. It didn’t work. Why’d you bring
me here?”

He strolled around and picked up one of the crystal goblets, nodding in approval as
though he were some sort of glassmaking expert. “Exactly that reason. I saw how much
that dream bothered you. I figured if I pulled you into one of these, it’d keep you
from one of Veronica’s.”

I’d never thought of that. Vampire magic was certainly preferable to hers. Looking
around, I gained a new appreciation for the room. It became a sanctuary, a place where
she couldn’t reach me. At least, I hoped not. We really didn’t know how her magic
would work against Adrian’s. For all I knew, she might come walking through the door,
carrying Sonya’s bouquet.

“Thank you,” I said. I sat down at one of the tables. “That was nice of you.” It was
another one of those incredible moments when Adrian had had the insight to guess my
thoughts—or in this case, my fears.

“Well, it was also selfish. I wanted to see you in the dress.” He reconsidered. “Actually,
I wanted to see you in that red Halloween dress again, but I figured that would be
pushing my luck.”

I looked away as an image of that dress returned to me. Lia DiStefano had created
the costume for me. She’d loosely based it on an ancient Greek dress and ended up
with a gauzy confection of red and gold. That was when Adrian had said I was the most
beautiful creature walking the earth. It had happened before he expressed his feelings
for me, but even then, his words had undone me. I thought about what he was doing
for me now and decided to give him a small compensation. I focused again on my clothes,
and the blue dress returned.

“Better?” I asked.

His face lit up in a way that made me smile in return. “Yes.”

Hoping I wasn’t setting myself up for some suggestive answer, I asked, “So what are
we going to do?”

“You sure you don’t want to dance? I can make some music.” My silence spoke for me.
“Fine, fine. I don’t know. We could play a game. Monopoly? Life? Battleship? Twister?
Whatever we do, I am
not
playing Scrabble with you.”

We warmed up with Battleship—I won—and then moved on to Monopoly. That took a little
work to set up because Adrian could only create things that he could imagine. He couldn’t
remember all the streets and cards, so we made our best attempt to re-create them.
Neither of us could remember one of the yellow streets, so he named it Jet Way.

We proved surprisingly well matched, and I became engrossed in the game. The power
shifted back and forth between us. Just when one of us seemed to have all the control,
the other would seize it back. I had no doubts about my ability to win—until I lost.
I sat there, dumbstruck, staring at the board.

“Have you ever lost a game before?” he asked.

“I . . . yes, of course . . . I just didn’t think . . .”

“That
I
could beat you?”

“No, I just . . . it doesn’t happen very often.” I looked up at him and shook my head.
“Congratulations.”

He leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I think beating you just improved your opinion
of me more than anything else I’ve ever done.”

“I’ve always had a high opinion of you.” I stretched out, surprised to feel kinks
in my body. It was strange how these dreams could have such a realistic physical component.
“How long have we have been here?”

“I don’t know. It’s not morning yet.” He appeared unconcerned. “What do you want to
play next?”

“We shouldn’t play anything,” I said. I stood up. “It’s been hours. I’m asleep, but
you aren’t. You can’t stay up all night.”

“I’m a vampire, Sage. A creature of the night, remember?”

“One who’s on a human schedule,” I chastised.

He still didn’t seem worried. “Only one class tomorrow. I’ll make it up.”

“What about the spirit?” I began to pace restlessly as more of the implications hit
me. “You have to be using a lot of it. That’s not good for you.”

“I’ll take my chances.” There was an unspoken
for you
at the end of his sentence.

I returned to the table and stood in front of his chair. “You have to be careful.
Between this and the Veronica hunt. . . .” I suddenly felt bad. I hadn’t thought twice
about asking him to help with that. I’d forgotten the risks. “Once we’ve stopped her,
you need to lay off the spirit.”

“Don’t worry.” He grinned. “Once we’ve gotten rid of that bitch, I’ll be celebrating
so much that I won’t be sober for days.”

“Ugh. Not the healthiest way to do it. Have you ever thought about antidepressants?”
I knew they helped some spirit users by blocking the magic.

His smile vanished. “I won’t touch those things. Lissa took them and hated them. Being
cut off from spirit nearly drove her crazy.”

I crossed my arms and leaned against the table. “Yeah, but using it will drive you
crazy too.”

“No lectures tonight, Sage. It mars my stunning Monopoly victory.”

He was far too casual for such a serious matter, but I knew him well enough to recognize
when he wouldn’t yield. “Fine. Then let’s end on a high note. Send me back, and get
some sleep.”

“You sure you’ll be okay?” His concern was so intense. I didn’t think anyone had ever
worried about me that much. Well, maybe Ms. Terwilliger.

“Probably she gave up for the night.” I really didn’t know, but I couldn’t let him
keep exerting himself. The thought of Veronica reaching out again terrified me . . .
but the thought of Adrian endangering himself almost scared me more. He’d risked so
much for me. Could I do any less? “You can check on me tomorrow night, though.”

Adrian’s face lit up as though I’d just accepted a date. “It’s a deal, then.”

And like that, the reception hall dissolved around me. I returned to peaceful sleep
and just barely heard him say, “Sweet dreams, Sage.”

ALTHOUGH OUR MAGICAL PLANS
had been derailed, Ms. Terwilliger had asked me to come by her room before classes
started in the morning so that we could talk strategy and future assignments. I had
just enough time to swing by the cafeteria for breakfast and found Jill, Eddie, and
Angeline sitting together. It felt like it had been a long time since we’d all been
together in some kind of normal setting, and I welcomed this small moment of bonding.
It was a refuge in the storm that had been my life recently.

Jill was grinning about something that Eddie didn’t seem to find so funny. “He didn’t
say anything about it to me,” he said.

“Of course not.” Jill laughed. “He’s too embarrassed.”

I sat down with my tray. “Who’s too embarrassed?” I assumed any “he” they were talking
about must be Adrian, though it was hard to imagine Adrian embarrassed about anything.

“Micah,” said Jill. “I talked him into modeling for our sewing club again. And then
he got Juan and Travis to do it too. ”

“How’d you manage that?” I asked. Jill had originally gotten involved with Lia through
the school’s sewing club. Back when Jill and Micah had dated, she’d convinced him
to model some very badly made clothes. He’d done it out of adoration, though I wasn’t
sure he’d really enjoyed it.

Jill leaned forward, an excited sparkle in her eyes. “Claire guilted him into it!
It was hilarious. But I don’t know how he talked Juan and Travis into it. Maybe they
owed him a favor.”

“Maybe they have ulterior motives,” said Eddie. His tone surprised me until I remembered
his lesson about the latest social developments around here. What was it? Claire was
Micah’s new girlfriend. Juan and Travis were his friends, who liked Jill. Eddie didn’t
like that they liked her. Got it. Apparently, Eddie hadn’t kept his opinions to himself
because Jill rolled her eyes.

“Will you stop worrying about that?” she asked. She was still smiling but sounded
just a
little
annoyed. “They’re good guys. And I’m not going to do anything stupid. You don’t have
to lecture me about humans and Moroi. I get it.”

Her jade eyes flicked over to me, and her smile faltered a little. She studied me
for several long, troubled moments, and I wondered what she was thinking about. Was
she still hoping for some romantic resolution between Adrian and me? Was she wondering
why Adrian and I kept getting into intimate situations? I kind of wanted to know that
too. She finally dragged her gaze away, letting her happy mood return.

“I’m just looking out for you,” Eddie said obstinately.

“You look out for assassins. I can handle these guys. I’m not a child, and besides,
these are the most male models we’ve ever had. It’s great. If we could score a couple
more, our club could do a whole project on men’s clothing.”

Eddie still looked way too serious for this discussion. “Maybe Eddie would volunteer,”
I suggested. “I bet guardian posture would be great on the catwalk.”

He blushed, which even I had to admit was adorable. If Jill had been irritated by
his earlier overprotectiveness, it was no longer obvious. From her dreamy expression,
you’d think Eddie blushing was the most amazing thing she’d ever witnessed. I think
he was too overwhelmed at the thought of strutting down a runway to notice.

Angeline had been completely silent so far. I glanced over at her, expecting her to
have something funny to say about her boyfriend being encouraged to model. But to
my surprise, she wasn’t paying attention to the conversation at all. She had a geometry
book open and was furiously trying to draw some circles freehand. It killed me to
watch, but after Kristin’s comment about Angeline stabbing someone with a compass,
freehand might be best.

“What do you think, Angeline?” I asked, just to see how engrossed she was. “Do you
think Eddie would make a good model?”

“Hmm?” She didn’t look up. “Oh, yeah. You should let Jill try some clothes on you.”

Now Jill blushed. Eddie’s deepened.

Just when I thought this meal couldn’t get any more surreal, Trey stopped by. He nudged
Angeline’s chair with his toe. “Hey, McCormick.” He nodded toward her graph paper.
“Time to check out your curves.”

Rather than answering with some biting response, she looked up instantly, a big smile
on her face. “I’ve been working on them all morning,” she said. “I think they’re pretty
good.”

“They look good from where I’m standing,” said Trey.

They were actually the worst circles I’d ever seen, but I guessed Trey wanted to encourage
her. I was amazed at how seriously she was treating this math grade. It seemed to
me that she was putting it above everything else, even her personal life. She gathered
up all her things so that she and Trey could go to the library. Eddie looked disappointed
but couldn’t protest, lest it give away the truth about Angeline and him. Trey knew
we weren’t all actually related, but Eddie and Angeline’s relationship was still kept
secret.

I realized then that it was almost time to meet Ms. Terwilliger. I hurriedly finished
a banana and told Eddie and Jill I’d see them later. Whether they would talk about
male modeling or Jill’s dating life, I couldn’t guess.

I showed up right on the dot for my meeting but found Ms. Terwilliger’s room locked
and dark. Even in crisis mode, I supposed she was entitled to run a little late now
and then, so I settled down on the hallway floor and read ahead for my English class.

I grew so absorbed that I didn’t realize how much time had passed until I heard the
warning bell ring and realized students were starting to fill the halls. I glanced
up just as the same harried substitute teacher from before came scurrying up to the
door with a set of keys. I scrambled to my feet.

“Ms. Terwilliger’s out today?” I asked. “Is she okay?”

“They don’t tell me the reasons,” the sub said brusquely. “They just ask me to be
here. I hope she left an assignment this time.”

Knowing Ms. Terwilliger, I had a feeling it was going to be another “homework” day.
I shuffled into the classroom after the sub, feeling a knot of anxiety in my stomach.

The next hour was agonizing. I barely heard as the sub told us to work on homework.
Instead, I kept sneaking glances at my cell phone, hoping a text would come from Ms.
Terwilliger. No such luck.

I went from class to class but was too distracted to give anything my full attention.
I even shocked myself in English when I nearly mixed up
Henry IV
with
Henry VI
while answering an essay question. Thankfully, I caught myself before committing
that embarrassing mistake to paper.

When I returned to Ms. Terwilliger’s classroom for my independent study at the day’s
end, I was expecting the sub to tell me I could leave early again. Instead, I found
Ms. Terwilliger herself, rifling through papers on her desk.

“You’re back!” I exclaimed. “I thought something had happened to you.”

“Not me,” she said. Her face was pale and drawn. “But someone else wasn’t so lucky.”

“No. Not again.” I sank into a chair, and all the fears I’d been carrying around today
came crashing down on me. “I’d hoped we’d protected those girls.”

Ms. Terwilliger sat down opposite me. “It wasn’t one of them. Last night, Veronica
targeted one of my coven members. Alana.”

It took me several moments to truly process that. “Your coven . . . you mean, like
a full-fledged witch?”

“Yes.”

“Someone like
you
?”

Her face gave me the answer before she spoke. “Yes.”

I was reeling. “But you said she only went after young girls.”

“Normally she does. That way she can capture youth and beauty along with power.” Ms.
Terwilliger didn’t look like she had to worry about someone stealing her youth anytime
soon. Fatigue and stress were taking their toll on her, making her look older than
she was. “Now, some magic users who perform this spell are only concerned about power,
not getting younger. That’s never been Veronica’s style, though. She’s vain. She always
wanted the superficial benefits—not to mention easier victims. Someone like my coven
sister would be more difficult to take, so this is surprising behavior.”

“It means
you
could be a target,” I said. “You’ve been saying all this time that you’re safe, but
now everything’s different.”

Ms. Terwilliger shook her head, and a bit of steely resolve flashed in her eyes. “No.
Maybe she did this to throw me off, to make me think it’s someone else behind the
spells. Or maybe to make me think she’s not interested in you. Whatever the reason,
she won’t target me.”

I admired Ms. Terwilliger for thinking so well of her sister, but I couldn’t share
her confidence that sisterly affection would overcome an evil quest for youth and
power. “No offense, ma’am, but isn’t there a slight chance you could be wrong about
her coming for you? You said she’d only go after young novices, but obviously, that’s
not the case. She’s already doing things you didn’t expect.”

Ms. Terwilliger refused to back down. “Veronica may do any number of terrible things,
but she won’t face me unless she’s absolutely forced to.” She handed over a new spell
book and a small drawstring bag. “Just because she went after an older witch, it doesn’t
mean you’re out of danger. I’ve marked some pages I want you to go over. There’s a
spell there I think will prove particularly useful. I’ve gathered some components
for you, and you should be able to cast the rest yourself—just make sure you do it
somewhere remote. Meanwhile, I still need to make you that secondary charm. There’s
just so much to do lately.”

A mix of emotions swirled within me. Once again, I was amazed that Ms. Terwilliger
would go to such lengths for me. Yet I couldn’t shake my fear for her. “Maybe you
should make one for yourself, just in case.”

She gave me a wan smile. “Still pushing that, hmm? Well, once I’ve secured yours,
I’ll see about another. It may take a while, however. What I have in mind for you
is particularly complex.”

That made me feel even worse. She always looked so worn out lately, and all these
things she was doing for me were only intensifying the situation. But no matter how
many arguments I made, she refused to listen. I left her classroom feeling upset and
confused. I needed to vent to someone. Obviously, my choices were limited in this
matter. I texted Adrian:
V attacked a real witch last night. Ms. T won’t protect herself. She’s only worried
about me.
As usual, I received a quick response:
Wanna talk about it?

Did I? I wasn’t the type to sit and analyze my feelings, but I did actually want company.
I knew I shouldn’t spend more time around Adrian than I had to when my feelings for
him were already so mixed. But he was the only person I wanted to talk to.
I have to cast some spells for her now. Want to pick me up and come along?

My answer was a smiley face.

She’d told me to go somewhere remote, so I picked Lone Rock Park again. When Adrian
and I arrived, it was smoldering in the late-afternoon heat, and I found it hard to
believe Christmas was only a couple weeks away. I’d dressed in layers, just like before,
and took off my Amberwood hoodie as Adrian and I trekked across the rocky terrain.
He took off a coat as well, and I had to do a double take when I saw what he was wearing
underneath.

“Really?” I asked. “Your AYE shirt?”

He shot me a grin. “Hey, it’s a perfectly good shirt. I think I’m going to see if
I can start a chapter on Carlton’s campus.” Carlton was the college he took art classes
at. It was pretty small and didn’t even have fraternities or sororities.

“
A
chapter?” I scoffed. “Don’t you mean the
only
chapter?”

“Gotta start somewhere, Sage.”

We reached the same spot where I’d practiced with Ms. Terwilliger, and I tried to
ignore the scorch marks on the ground. Adrian had decided to turn this into a desert
picnic and had brought along a basket containing a blanket and a thermos of lemonade.
“I figured we could stop at Pies and Stuff on the way back since I know how much you
like that place,” he explained, deadpan, as he poured me a cup. “Hopefully this’ll
tide you over after the spell.”

“I wish this was over,” I said, running my hand over the weathered leather of Ms.
Terwilliger’s latest book. It was an old handwritten one called
Summonings and Conjurations
. “I hate living with the uncertainty, worrying that Veronica’s lurking behind every
corner. My life’s already complicated enough without witches coming after me.”

Adrian, face serious, stretched out on the blanket and propped his head up with his
elbow. “If she’s even coming after you.”

I sat down cross-legged, careful to keep a lot more distance than in the Velvet Suite.
“Ms. Terwilliger won’t listen to me. She just keeps stressing over me.”

“Let her,” he suggested. “I mean, I totally get why you’re worried about her. I am
too. But we have to accept that she knows what she’s talking about. She’s been involved
with this stuff a lot longer than we have.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Since when are you involved with magic?”

“Since I started looking after you and being all manly and brave.”

“Funny, I don’t remember it that way.” I worked to keep a straight face. “If you think
about all the rides I gave you, me getting you into college . . . well, it kind of
seems like I’m looking after you.”

He leaned toward me. “I guess we look after each other.”

We locked eyes and smiled, but there was nothing sensuous about it. There was no trick
here, no sly move on Adrian’s part to advance on me. And there was no fear on my part.
We were just two people who cared about each other. It reminded me of what had initially
drawn us together—before all the romantic complications. We connected. Against all
reason, we understood each other, and—as he said—we looked out for each other. I’d
never had a relationship quite like that with anyone and was surprised at how much
I valued it.