The Golden Lily (32 page)

“You’re sure it was like a regular sun? With rays?” asked Adrian. “Because I thought the hunters used that old Alchemist one—the circle and dot.”

“They do, but this was definitely—oh God.” I looked up at Adrian. “We have to get back to Amberwood. Right now.”

“Not after that,” said Ms. Terwiliger. She was using her stern teacher voice. “That took more from you than I expected. Sleep here, and I’ll make sure everything’s cleared up with Desiree and the school tomorrow.”

“No.” I stood up and felt my legs start to buckle, but in the end, they held. Adrian put a supportive arm around me, clearly not believing in my body’s recovery. “I have to get back there. I think I know how we can find out where this place is.” Adrian was right that the sun I’d just described wasn’t the design that had been on the sword or brochure. Both of those had used the ancient symbol. The one in my vision was a more modern adaptation—and this wasn’t the first time I’d seen it.

The sun in my vision was an exact match for Trey’s tattoo.

GETTING TO TREY was easier said than done. A girl getting into the guys’ dorm at normal hours would’ve been difficult enough.

But after curfew? In the middle of the night? Nearly impossible. I had to resort to creative options and caled Eddie while I was driving Adrian home. One thing I never had to feel guilty about was caling Eddie at any hour. He kept his ringer on (much to Micah’s delight, no doubt), and I suspected he slept with the phone next to his pilow.

“Yes?” Eddie’s voice was alert and ready, as though he hadn’t been asleep at al. That was just how he was.

“I need you to go see if you can wake up Trey,” I told him.

“Sonya’s been kidnapped and is being held at some weird compound with a logo like Trey’s tattoo. We need to find out what he knows.” This was the first time Eddie was hearing about Sonya’s kidnapping, but he didn’t ask for further information—or how I’d known her location. He knew she’d been in danger recently, and this quick message was enough to get him going. I didn’t exactly know what would happen when Eddie did find Trey, seeing as there was no way I’d be able to talk to Trey myself seeing as there was no way I’d be able to talk to Trey myself until morning. still, we had to start somewhere.

“Okay,” said Eddie. “I’m on it. I’ll call you back.” We disconnected, and I stifled a yawn. “Wel, here goes nothing. Let’s hope Eddie can find out something.”

“Preferably without beating up Trey in the process,” said Adrian. He snuggled against the passenger seat, the only sign that he too was feeling tired from our late night. He’d long since converted from a vampire’s nocturnal schedule. “Since that might limit how much we can find out.” I made a face. “If Trey’s somehow involved with this, I’m not sure I want to take it easy on him. And yet … I just can’t believe he is.”

“People fool each other all the time. Look at you. You think Trey knows you’re part of a secret society helping to keep vampires hidden from the world?”

“Actualy … yes.” I stopped at a red light and thought back on some of Trey’s weird behaviors. “He knows Jil’s a Moroi, I’m almost certain of it. He didn’t notice right away, but when he did, he kept teling me to keep her hidden. Then after Sonya was attacked, he told me to stay safe.” A horrible realization was dawning on me. “He knew. He knew I was friends with Sonya.

He probably knew about the attack and never said anything!”

“Not a surprise if his group’s working counter to yours.” Adrian’s tone softened. “If it makes you feel better, it sounds like he was kind of conflicted if he was trying to warn you.”

“I don’t know that it does. Oh, Adrian.” I puled up in front of his building and saw the yelow Mustang iluminated in the his building and saw the yelow Mustang iluminated in the streetlight. “You left the car out. You’re lucky it didn’t get towed.”

“I’ll move it,” he said. “And don’t look at me like that. It’s within a half-mile radius. I’m not breaking your rules.”

“Just be careful,” I muttered.

He opened Latte’s door and glanced back at me. “You sure you want to go back to the school? You’ll be locked in until morning.”

“Not much I can do until then anyway. I want to be there the instant I can get access to Trey. I’ll trust in Eddie for now.” Adrian looked reluctant to leave me but finaly nodded. “Call if you need anything. I’m going to keep trying to see if I can find Sonya in her dreams. Didn’t have much luck earlier.” One of spirit’s more disconcerting powers was the user’s ability to intrude on the dreams of other people. “Is she just not asleep?”

“That, or drugged.”

Neither option made me feel any better. He gave me one last, lingering look before leaving. I returned to Amberwood where a sleepy student aide waved me in without comment. Mrs.

Weathers had long since gone home, and her overnight coverage didn’t seem particularly concerned about my comings and goings. As I was walking up the stairs, my phone rang. Eddie.

“Wel, it took forever, but I finaly woke his roommate up,” he told me.

“And?”

“He’s not there. I guess he wasn’t last night either. Some kind

“He’s not there. I guess he wasn’t last night either. Some kind of family emergency.”

“No word on when he’ll be back?” I was beginning to think all of Trey’s “family stuff” might be more insidious than I’d guessed. I was also wiling to bet he wasn’t the only one with a sun tattoo.

“No.”

I DRIFTED IN AND OUT of sleep that night. My body was exhausted from the magic, but I was too on edge about Sonya to fuly give in to the fatigue. I keep waking up and checking my cell phone, afraid I’d missed some cal—despite the fact that it was on its loudest setting. I finaly gave up and got out of bed a couple of waking up and checking my cell phone, afraid I’d missed some cal—despite the fact that it was on its loudest setting. I finaly gave up and got out of bed a couple of hours before the cafeteria’s breakfast began. By the time I’d showered and dressed—and put my coffee maker into high gear—I was back into open hours on campus. Not that it did me much good.

I made two more cals after that, first to Spencer’s to see if Trey was working. I didn’t expect him to be, but it was a good excuse to see if he’d been there in the last couple of days. He hadn’t been. My next call was to Stanton, reporting Sonya’s disappearance. I told her we had a lead that connected one of my classmates to the vampire hunters and that Sonya was likely being held at a compound outside of town. I didn’t elaborate on how I knew, and Stanton was distracted enough by the kidnapping in general to ask much more.

At breakfast, I found my “family” sitting with Micah over at West’s cafeteria. Eddie, Angeline, and Jil’s troubled faces told me they all knew about Sonya. Micah was cheerfuly chatting about something, and I had a feeling his presence was preventing the others from discussing what they realy wanted to. When Micah turned to ask Eddie something, I leaned over and murmured to Jil, “Get him out of here.”

“Tell him to go?” she whispered back.

“If you need to. Or go with him.”

“But I want to—”

She bit her lip as Micah’s attention returned to her. She looked unhappy about what she had to do, but soon put on the resolved expression that recently I’d often seen her wear. She nodded toward Micah’s plate. “Hey, are you about done? I need to check on something with Miss Yamani. Will you come with me?” Micah brightened. “Of course.”

Once the two of them were gone, I turned to Eddie and Angeline. “Any sign of Trey?” I asked.

“No,” said Eddie. “I checked in again this morning. His roommate’s starting to hate me. Can’t say I blame him.”

“This is driving me crazy!” I said, feeling like I could beat my head against the wal. “We’re so close and yet helpless. Every minute that goes by is another that Sonya doesn’t have.” He grimaced. “Are we sure she’s alive?”

“She was last night,” I said.

Both Eddie and Angeline looked at me in amazement. “How do you know?” she asked.

do you know?” she asked.

“Um, wel, I—no way!” My jaw dropped as I stared past Eddie. “It’s Trey!”

Sure enough, a bleary-eyed Trey had just entered the cafeteria. Damp hair indicated a recent shower, but there were bruises and scrapes all over him that I could no longer attribute to football.

Eddie was in motion before I could say another word, and Angeline and I were quick to folow. I half-expected Eddie to tackle Trey then and there. Instead, Eddie walked right in front of Trey and blocked him from entering the food line. I was just in time to hear Eddie say, “No breakfast today. You’re coming with us.” Trey started to protest and then saw Angeline and me. Jill suddenly appeared as wel, having apparently lost Micah. A sad look crossed Trey’s features—almost defeated—and he gave a weary nod. “Let’s go outside.”

As soon as we’d cleared the door, Eddie grabbed hold of Trey and shoved him against the building. “Where’s Sonya Karp?” Eddie demanded. Trey looked understandably surprised. Eddie was lean and muscled, but most people underestimated just how strong he was.

“Eddie, back off!” I hissed, glancing around uneasily. I had the same urge, true, but our interrogation wouldn’t get very far if a teacher came by and thought we were roughing up another student.

Eddie released Trey and stepped back, but there was still a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Where’s the compound you’re dangerous glint in his eyes. “Where’s the compound you’re holding her at?”

That seemed to wake Trey out of his sluggish state. “How do you know about that?”

“We’ll ask the questions,” said Eddie. He didn’t touch Trey again, but his proximity and posture left no question he would go to extremes if needed. “Is Sonya still alive?” Trey hesitated, and I almost expected a denial of knowledge.

“Y-yes. For now.”

Eddie snapped again. He grabbed the front of Trey’s shirt and jerked him close. “I swear, if you and your messed-up associates lay one hand on her—”

“Eddie,” I warned.

For a moment, Eddie didn’t move. Then, reluctantly, he released Trey’s shirt, but stayed where he’d been standing.

“Trey,” I began, keeping the same reasonable tone I’d just used with Eddie—after al, Trey and I were friends, right? “You have to help us. Please help us find Sonya.” He shook his head. “I can’t, Sydney. It’s for your own good.

She’s evil. I don’t know what trick she’s played on you or how she’s got this ilusion going on that hides her true identity, but you can’t trust her. She’ll turn on you.

She’s evil. I don’t know what trick she’s played on you or how she’s got this ilusion going on that hides her true identity, but you can’t trust her. She’ll turn on you.

Let us—let us do what we need to.”

The words were all correct, right in line with the Warriors’

propaganda. But, there was something in the way Trey spoke, something about his posture … I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that made me question him. People teased me about my inability to pick up on social cues, but I was almost certain he my inability to pick up on social cues, but I was almost certain he wasn’t entirely on board with whatever this group wanted him to do.

“This isn’t you, Trey,” I said. “I know you well enough to know. You wouldn’t kill an innocent woman.”

“She’s not innocent.” There it was again—that mix of emotions. Doubt. “She’s a monster. You know about them. You know what they can do. Not ones like her.” He nodded toward Jil. “But the others. The undead ones.”

“Does Sonya look undead?” asked Eddie. “You see any red eyes?”

“No,” Trey admitted. “But we have other reports. Witnesses who saw her in Kentucky. Reports of her victims.” It was hard to keep a calm face through that. I’d actualy seen Sonya when she was Strigoi. She’d been terrifying, and given half a chance, she would have kiled my companions and me. It was hard to accept that when one turned into a Strigoi, they weren’t in control of their senses or soul. They lost touch with their humanity—or whatever Moroi had—and weren’t the same as they’d once been. Sonya had done terrible, terrible things, but she was no longer that creature.

“Sonya changed,” I said. “She’s not one of them anymore.” Trey’s eyes narrowed. “That’s impossible. You’re being deceived. There’s some kind of … I don’t know … dark magic going on.”

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” growled Eddie. “Call Dimitri.

Between the two of us, we’ll get him to tell us where this Between the two of us, we’ll get him to tell us where this compound’s at. I’ve broken into a prison. Getting into this place shouldn’t be that much harder.”

“Oh, you think so?” A humorless smile crossed Trey’s features. “That place is surrounded with an electric fence and packed with armed men. Plus, she’s heavily secured. You can’t just walk in there.”

“Why is she still alive?” asked Angeline. She seemed to realize how weird that sounded and was quick to elaborate. “That is … I mean, I’m glad she is. But if you think she’s so evil, why didn’t you finish her off?” She glanced at my friends and me.

“Sorry.”

“It’s a good question,” Eddie told her.

Trey took a long time in answering. I had a feeling he was torn between keeping the group’s secrets and wanting to justify his actions to us. “Because we’re all being tested,” he said finaly.

“To see who’s worthy of performing the kil.”

“Oh my God,” said Jil.

“Hence all your bruises recently,” I said. My fears of domestic abuse weren’t far off, realy. “You’re competing to kill a woman who’s done nothing to you.”

“Stop saying that!” Trey cried, truly looking distraught. “She’s not innocent.”

“But you’re not so sure,” I said. “Are you? Your eyes aren’t teling you what your hunter friends are.” He evaded the accusation. “My family expects this of me. We all have to try—especialy after we messed up the aley attack.

We lost our authorization to kill her then, which is why the We lost our authorization to kill her then, which is why the council ordered these trials to redeem ourselves and prove we were up to it.” Getting “authorization” to kill someone was sickening, but it was the rest of what he said that made me do a double take.

“You were there,” I said in disbelief. “In the aley, and—and it was you! You’re the one who grabbed me!” It came back to me now, my assailant’s surprise and hesitation.

Trey’s face confirmed as much. “I knew you were friends with them. I can tell by looking at all of you, although I didn’t figure you two out right away.” That was to Eddie and Angeline. Trey turned back to me. “I recognized your tattoo the first time we met. I just ignored it because I didn’t think you were involved in anything that I was. I thought you only hung out with harmless vampires, so I didn’t expect you to be there that night. I never wanted you to get hurt. I still don’t, which is why you need to let this go.”

“I’m tired of this,” said Eddie. It was a wonder he’d been patient this long. “We need to bust down the doors of that place and—”

“Wait, wait.” An idea was forming in my head—and it was another crazy one. “Trey, you said Eddie couldn’t just walk into that place. But could I?”

“What are you talking about?” asked Trey, a mix of suspicion and confusion on his face

“You know what I am. You know what I do.” Trey nodded.