Bloodlines

A knock sounded at the door.

"Not a word," Lee hissed. "They'll go away."

Seconds later, the knock repeated, followed by: "Sage, I know you're in there. I saw your car. I know you're pissed off, but just listen to me."

Dingdong, distraction calling.

"Adrian!" I screamed, jumping up from the chair. I made no attempt to disarm Lee. My only goal was safety. I pushed past him before he could react, heading for the door, but he was more prepared than I'd expected. He leapt toward me and tackled me to the ground, the knife catching me in the arm as I fell. I yelped in pain as I felt the tip of the blade dig into my skin. I struggled against him, only succeeding in making the knife tear into me more. The door suddenly opened, and I was grateful that I'd left it unlocked after letting Lee in. Adrian entered, coming to a standstill as he took in the scene.

"Don't come closer," warned Lee, pushing the knife against my throat again. I could feel warm blood oozing from my arm. "Shut the door. Then... sit down and put your hands behind your head. I'll kill her if you don't."

"He's going to do it anyway - ahh!" My words were cut off as the knife pierced my skin, not enough to kill me yet but enough to cause pain.

"Okay, okay," said Adrian, holding up his hands. He looked more sober and serious than I'd ever seen. When he was settled on the floor, hands behind his head as directed, he said gently, "Lee, I don't know what you're doing, but you need to stop it now before it goes any further. You don't have a gun. You can't really hold us both here under the threat of a knife."

"It's worked before," Lee said. Still keeping the knife on me, he reached into his coat pocket with his other hand and produced a pair of handcuffs. That was unexpected. He slid them over to Adrian. "Put these on." When Adrian didn't react right away, Lee pushed on the knife until I yelped. "Now!"

Adrian put the handcuffs on.

"I'd meant them for her, but you coming by might be a good thing," said Lee. "I'll probably be hungry once I'm reawakened."

Adrian arched an eyebrow. "Reawakened?"

"He used to be Strigoi," I managed to say. "He's been killing girls - slitting their throats - to try to become one again."

"Be quiet," snapped Lee.

"Why would you cut their throats?" asked Adrian. "You have fangs."

"Because it didn't work! I did use my fangs. I drank from them... but it didn't work. I didn't reawaken again. So then I had to cover my trail. The guardians can tell, you know. Moroi and Strigoi bites? I needed the knife to subdue them anyway, so then I cut their necks to hide the trail... make them think it was a crazy Strigoi. Or a vampire hunter."

I could see Adrian processing all this. I don't know if he believed it or not, but he had the potential to roll with crazy ideas regardless. "If the others didn't work, then Sydney won't either."

"She has to," said Lee fervently. He shifted so that I was rolled onto my back, still pinned by his greater body weight. "Her blood's special. I know it is. And if it doesn't... I'll get help. I'll get help reawakening, and then I'll awaken Jill so we can always be together."

Adrian jumped to his feet, full of a surprising fury. "Jill? Don't hurt her! Don't even touch her!"

"Sit down," barked Lee. Adrian obeyed. "I wouldn't hurt her. I love her. That's why I'm going to make sure she stays exactly the way she is. Forever. I'll awaken her after I'm reawakened."

I tried to catch Adrian's eye, wondering if I could pass some silent message. If we both surged at Lee together - even with Adrian cuffed - then maybe we had a chance at subduing him. Lee was seconds away from tearing into my throat, I was certain, in the hopes that... what? That he could drink my blood and become Strigoi?

"Lee," I said in a small voice. Too much movement in my throat would result in a bite from the knife. "It didn't work with the other girls. I don't think the fact that I'm an Alchemist matters. Whatever that spirit user did to save you... you can't go back now. It doesn't matter whose blood you drink."

"He didn't save me!" roared Lee. "He ruined my life. I've been trying to get it back for six years. I was almost ready for the last resort... until you and Keith came along. And I've still got that last option left. I don't want it to come to that, though. For all our sakes."

I wasn't the last resort? Honestly, I didn't really see how any other alternative plans here could be much worse for me. Meanwhile, Adrian still wasn't looking in my direction, which frustrated me - until I realized what he was trying to do.

"This is a mistake," he told Lee. "Look at me, and tell me you really want to do this to her."

Cuffed or not, Adrian didn't have the speed and strength of a dhampir, someone who could leap over and disarm Lee before the knife could do its damage. Adrian also didn't have the power to wield a physical element, say, like fire, one that could be used as a concrete weapon. Adrian did, however, have the ability to compel. Compulsion was an innate ability all vampires had and one that spirit users in particular were adept at. Unfortunately, it worked best with eye contact, and Lee wasn't playing ball. His attention was all on me, blocking Adrian's efforts.

"I made my decision a long time ago," said Lee. With his free hand, he dabbed his fingers in the bloody patch on my arm. He brought his fingertips to his lips, a look of grim resignation on his face. He licked the blood from his hand, which wasn't nearly as gross to me as it would've been under other circumstances. With so much going on right now, it was honestly no more terrible than the rest and just rolled off of me.

A look of total shock and surprise crossed Lee's features... soon turning to disgust.

"No," he gasped. He repeated the motion, rubbing more blood on his fingers and licking it. "There's something... there's something wrong..."

He leaned his mouth to my neck, and I whimpered, fearing the inevitable. But it wasn't his teeth I felt, only the lightest brushing of his lips and tongue at the wound he'd created, like some sort of perverse kiss. He jerked back immediately, staring at me in horror.

"What's wrong with you?" he whispered. "What's wrong with your blood?" He made a third attempt to taste my blood but was unable to finish. He scowled. "I can't do it. I can't stomach any of it. Why?"

Neither Adrian nor I had an answer. Lee sagged in defeat for a moment, and I suddenly allowed myself to think he might just give up and call all this madness off. With a deep breath, he straightened up, new resolve in his eyes. I tensed, half-expecting him to say he was going to try to drink Adrian now, even though a Moroi - two, if you counted Melody - had apparently been on the menu of his past failures.