The Indigo Spell (32 page)

“I really did look, Sydney,” he said. “I couldn’t find Jackie in the house. Maybe
she escaped.” I prayed he was right. Otherwise, we had just abandoned my history teacher
to a fiery death. “What happened to Alicia?”

“Last I saw, she was in the basement.” A sickening feeling twisted in my stomach.
“I don’t know if she’ll get out. Adrian, what have I just done?”

“You defended yourself. And me. And hopefully Jackie.” His arm tightened around me.
“Alicia was evil. Look what she did to those other witches—what she wanted to do to
you guys.”

“I never saw it coming,” I said bleakly. “I thought I was so smart. And each time
I talked to her, I dismissed her as some dumb, scattered girl. Meanwhile, she was
laughing and countering my moves every step of the way. It’s humbling. I don’t meet
many people like that.”

“The Moriarty to your Holmes?” he suggested.

“Adrian,” I said. It was all I needed to say.

He suddenly did a double take, noticing my attire for the first time tonight now that
the jacket had come open. “You’re wearing your AYE shirt?”

“Yeah, I never wage magical battles without—”

A small mewling noise suddenly caught my attention. I searched around until I spotted
two green eyes peering at me from under a bush across the street. I managed to straighten
up and found that my legs, though weak, could support my weight again. I took a few
halting steps toward the bush, and Adrian immediately ran to my side.

“What are you doing? You need help,” he said.

I pointed. “We have to follow that cat.”

“Sydney—”

“Help me,” I pleaded.

He couldn’t resist. Supporting me with his arm again, he helped me walk across the
street toward the cat. It ran ahead between two bushes, then glanced back at us.

“It wants us to follow,” I told him.

So we did, cutting through houses and streets until when we were about four blocks
from the bungalow, the cat dashed off into a park. Whatever energy I’d had when I
started after the cat was long gone. I was panting and dizzy again and fighting hard
to resist asking Adrian to carry me. Something in the center of the park caught my
attention and gave me one last burst of adrenaline to run forward.

There, lying on the grass, was Ms. Terwilliger.

She was awake, thankfully, but looked nearly as exhausted as I felt. Tears and smudges
suggested she’d been through quite an ordeal. She had managed to escape Alicia, but
not without a fight. That was why we hadn’t been able to find her in the house.
Seeing me, she blinked in surprise.

“You’re okay,” she said. “And you found me.”

“The cats led us,” I said, pointing. All thirteen of them were sitting around in
the park, surrounding their owner—making sure she was okay.

She glanced around at them and managed a weary smile. “See? I told you cats are useful.”

“Callistanas aren’t so bad either,” I said, looking down at my satchel. “That ‘pain
in the ass’ screeching saved me from a face full of acid.”

Adrian put his hand to his heart in mock horror. “Sage, did you just swear?”

Glancing over, Ms. Terwilliger noticed him for the first time. “And you’re here too?
I’m so sorry you had to get dragged into this mess. I know you didn’t ask for any
of this trouble.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Adrian, smiling. He rested a hand on my shoulder. “Some
things are worth the trouble.”

I FELT PRETTY BAD
about burning down my teacher’s house.

Ms. Terwilliger, for obvious reasons, seemed to think that was the least of her problems.
She wasn’t sure if her insurance would cover the damage, but her company was pretty
speedy in sending someone out to investigate the cause. We were still waiting to hear
their verdict on coverage, but one thing they didn’t report finding was any sign of
human remains. Part of me was relieved that I hadn’t actually killed anyone. Another
part of me feared we hadn’t seen the last of Alicia. What silly comparison had Adrian
made?
The Moriarty to your Holmes.
I had to imagine that being hit in the face with razor blades and then left in a
burning building would make anyone hold a grudge.

A little investigation eventually turned up Veronica at a Los Angeles hospital, checked
in as Jane Doe. Visiting her comatose sister became the greatest of Ms. Terwilliger’s
priorities, and she harbored hopes of possibly finding a way to undo the spell. Despite
how busy she now was, my teacher still managed to urge me to meet her coven, and I
agreed for a few different reasons. One was that it was kind of impossible for me
to act like I didn’t want to wield magic anymore.

The other reason was that I didn’t plan on being around.

I was still resolved to go with Marcus to Mexico, and the week flew by. Winter finals
were a breeze, and before I knew it, it was Friday, the day before our trip to Mexico.
I took a risk by telling my friends goodbye. The safest thing would’ve been to disappear
without a trace, but I trusted them all—even Angeline—to keep my secret and feign
ignorance once the Alchemists discovered they had a runaway. I told Trey as well.
No matter what had gone down between us, he was still my friend, and I would miss
him.

As the day wore on, the dorm grew quieter and quieter—aside from unending Christmas
music playing in the lobby. Not wanting to exclude other religions, Mrs. Weathers
had also set out a menorah and “Happy Kwanzaa” banner. Tomorrow was officially the
last day before everyone had to be out, and a number of people had already left for
winter break. I’d finished my own packing, which was light. I didn’t want to be burdened
down with excess luggage since I really had no idea what to expect in Mexico.

I still had two people I needed to say goodbye to: Adrian and Jill. I’d avoided them
both for very different reasons, but time was running out. I knew Jill was just a
flight of stairs away, but Adrian was more difficult. We’d been in touch a couple
times after the fire, simply to sort out some details, but he’d soon gone silent.
No calls, no texts, no dreams. Maybe I should’ve been glad. Maybe I should’ve welcomed
the chance to leave without any painful goodbyes . . . but I couldn’t. My chest ached
with the thought of not seeing him again. Even though he was the reason I was leaving,
I still felt like I needed some closure.

It’s not about closure, Sydney. You want to see him. You need to see him. And that’s
exactly why you have to leave.

Finally, I took the plunge and called him. It took me so long to work up the nerve
that I could hardly believe it when he didn’t answer. I resisted the urge to immediately
try again. No. I could wait. There would still be time tomorrow, and surely . . .
surely he wasn’t avoiding me?

I decided to hold off on talking to Jill until the next day. Telling her goodbye was
just as difficult—and not just because of what she saw through the bond. I knew she’d
think I was abandoning her. In truth, if I stayed and ended up with Adrian, I’d possibly
be caught and never be able to help her at all. At least if I was away and free, I
could try to help her from the outside. I hoped she’d understand.

Waiting on her gave me the opportunity to take care of an unwelcome errand: returning
Malachi Wolfe’s gun. I’d never gone to his home without Adrian, and even though I
knew I had nothing to fear from Wolfe, there was still something a little unsettling
about going to the compound alone.

To my complete and utter astonishment, Wolfe let me into the house when I arrived.
All was quiet. “Where are the dogs?” I asked.

“At training,” he said. “I have a friend who’s an expert dog trainer, and he’s giving
them some stealth lessons. He used to work for a local K-9 unit.”

I didn’t think it was in the Chihuahua genetic code to ever be stealthy. I kept that
to myself and instead stared around in amazement at Wolfe’s kitchen. I’d expected
something like a ship’s galley. Instead, I found an astonishingly cheery room, with
blue-checkered wallpaper and a squirrel cookie jar. If someone had asked me to describe
the most unlikely Wolfe kitchen out there, it would’ve looked something like this.
No—wait. On the refrigerator, he had some magnets that looked like ninja throwing
stars. That, at least, was in character.

Adrian’s going to flip out when I tell him.
Then I remembered I might not see Adrian for a very long time. That realization killed
whatever amusement I’d just felt.

“So what do you need?” asked Wolfe. Peering at him, I suddenly had a strange feeling
the eye patch really was on a different eye from last time. I should’ve paid more
attention. “Another gun?”

I returned to the task at hand. “No, sir. I didn’t even need the first one, but thanks
for lending it to me.” I removed it from the bag and handed it to him.

He gave the gun a once-over and then set it inside a drawer. “Fixed your problem?
You can still hang on to it if you want.”

“I’m leaving the country. Bringing it over the border might cause me some trouble.”

“Fair enough,” he said. He grabbed the cookie jar and took off the lid, leaning it
toward me. An amazing scent drifted out. “Want one? I just made them.”

I was really regretting not being able to tell Adrian about this. “No thanks, sir.
I’ve had more than enough sugar these last few weeks.” I felt like I should have a
frequent customer card for Pies and Stuff.

“I thought you looked better. Not all skin and bones anymore.” He nodded in approval,
which felt really weird and slightly creepy. “So where are you two kids going?”

“Mexi—oh, Adrian’s not going with me. I’m going with someone else.”

“Really?” He slid the squirrel back across the counter. “I’m surprised. I always figured
when you two left here, you went home and had your own private ‘training sessions.’”

I felt myself turning bright red. “No! It’s not like—I mean, we’re just friends, sir.”

“I had a friend like that once. Silver Tooth Sally.” He got that faraway expression
that always came on when he had an anecdote to share.

“I’m sorry, did you say—”

“Never met a woman like Sally,” he interrupted. “We fought our way across Switzerland
together, always watching each other’s backs. We finally got out alive—just barely—and
she wanted to come back to the States and settle down. Not me. I had dreams, you see.
I was a young man then, drawn to danger and glory. I left her and went off to live
with an Orcadian shaman. It took two years and a lot of vision quests to realize my
mistake, but when I got back, I couldn’t find her. When I close my eye at night, I
can still see that tooth sparkle like a star. It haunts me, girl. It haunts me.”

I frowned. “I don’t think the Orcadians have vision quests, sir. Or shamans.”

Wolfe leaned forward and shook a finger at me, his eye wide. “Learn from my mistakes,
girl. Don’t go to the Orkneys. You don’t need some mystical vision to see what’s in
front of you, you hear me?”

I gulped. “Yes, sir.”

I hurried out after that, thinking that being in a different country from Malachi
Wolfe might be a good thing.

The next morning, I prepared to tell Jill goodbye, but she beat me to it and showed
up at my door. It was the first time we’d truly spoken since the morning after that
last dream with Adrian.

She walked into my room and frowned when she saw the suitcase. “You’re really going?”

“Yes. And I’m sure you know why.”

She crossed her arms and looked me straight in the eye, without any of the reservation
she’d shown last time. I had trouble holding that stare. “Sydney, don’t leave Adrian
because of me.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” I said automatically.

“It’s really not,” she said. “From everything I’ve seen and heard, you’re just afraid.
You’ve always controlled every detail of your life. When you couldn’t—like with the
Alchemists—you found a way to seize back that control.”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting control,” I snapped.

“Except that we can’t always have it, and sometimes that’s a good thing. A great thing,
even,” she added. “And that’s how it is with Adrian. No matter how hard you try, you
aren’t going to be able to control your feelings for him. You can’t help loving him,
and so you’re running away. I’m just an excuse.”

Who was she to lecture me like this? “You think I’m lying about how awkward it is
for you to see everything that happens between us? Every intimate detail is on display.
I can’t do that. I can’t live like that.”

“Adrian’s learned to.”

“Well, he’s had to.”

“Exactly.” Some of her fierceness mellowed. “Sydney, he brought me back from the dead.
It’s the greatest thing anyone can or will do for me. I can’t pay him back, but I
can let him live his life the way he wants to. I don’t expect him to shelter me because
of the bond, and I’m not going to judge him—or you. Someday, he and I will learn to
block each other.”

“Someday,” I reiterated.

“Yes. And until then, we do the best we can. All you’re doing by leaving is making
three people miserable.”

“Three?” I frowned. “I’m helping you.”

“Do you really think I’m happy when he’s miserable? Do you think I like the darkness
that crawls over him?” When I said nothing, she pushed forward. “Look, I don’t have
the same physical reaction to you that he does, but when he’s with you, he’s so full
of joy . . . it radiates through to me, and it’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve
ever had. I’ve never been in love like you guys are.”

“I’m not—” I couldn’t say it, and she gave me a knowing look. I tried a different
tactic. “Staying here is dangerous, especially with him. The Alchemists might find
out about everything—him, my tattoo, Ms. Terwilliger, and God knows what else.”

“And if they don’t find out, look at what you get. Adrian. The rest of us. Magic.
The chance to uncover their secrets. I know you love this life. Why would you give
it up? You’re too smart to get caught. We’ll help you. Do you really think Marcus
and his Merry Men can do that much fighting when they’re always on the run?”

I shook my head. “They’re like me. They understand me.”

She was obstinate. “They aren’t like you at all. They talk. You act.”

It was so surprising to see her like this, so confident and so much wiser than her
years. It was also a little irritating. If she was so wise, why couldn’t she understand
how much was at stake?

“Jill, staying is a big risk—in all ways.”

“Of course it is!” she exclaimed, her eyes flashing with anger. “Any life worth living
is going to have risks. If you go to Mexico, you’ll regret it—and I think you know
that.”

My phone rang, cutting off my next response. It was Eddie. He rarely called, and panic
seized me.

“What’s wrong?” I demanded.

He sounded mystified. “I wouldn’t say anything’s wrong . . . just surprising. Is Jill
with you? You guys should really come down. We’re outside”

He hung up, and I was left totally confused. “What’s up?” asked Jill.

“Something surprising, apparently.”

She and I went down to the lobby, with no more mention of Adrian. When we stepped
outside, we found Eddie and Angeline pointedly avoiding eye contact with each other.
Standing near them was a tall, good-looking guy with neatly trimmed black hair and
bright blue eyes. He wore a stern, serious expression and was scanning the area.

“He’s a dhampir,” Jill murmured to me.

His eyes locked onto us at our approach, and that fierce look relaxed.

“Jill, Sydney,” said Eddie. “This is Neil Raymond. He’s going to be joining us here.”

Neil swept Jill a bow so low, it was a wonder he didn’t hit the ground. “Princess
Jillian,” he said in a deep voice. “It’s an honor to serve you, and I’ll do so to
the best of my abilities, even if it means sacrificing my own life.”

Jill took a step back, her eyes wide as she took him in. “Th-thank you.”

Eddie looked back and forth between them, a small frown appearing on his face. “Neil’s
been sent as backup. I guess you filed some complaint about Jill not having enough
protection?” That was to me, and unless I was mistaken, there was an accusatory note
in his voice.

“No—I. Oh. I guess I kind of did.” When I’d been trying to do damage control with
Stanton, one of my grievances had been that I never felt Jill was safe. I guess this
was Stanton’s response. It was surprising, just as Eddie had said, but more eyes on
her couldn’t hurt. From the way she was sizing Neil up, she certainly didn’t seem
to mind either.

I shook his hand. “Nice to have you around, Neil. Are they passing you off as another
cousin?”

“Just a new student,” he said. That was probably just as well. Our “family” was in
danger of taking over Amberwood.

I would’ve liked to learn a little more about him, but my time was up. Marcus was
picking me up soon to go to the train station, seeing as Latte had been declared totaled.
I guess that was a different sort of closure, albeit a sad kind.

I told them all goodbye as I left to get my suitcase, acting as though I just had
to run an errand. Eddie, Angeline, and Jill knew the truth, and I could see the hurt
and regret in their eyes—especially Jill. I prayed they’d be okay without me. When
I came back downstairs, I found Jill was the only one still there.

“I forgot to give you this,” she said, handing over a small envelope. My name was
on the outside, and I recognized the writing.