The Golden Lily

Dimitri seemed to be trying to find a nice way to respond. He was as amazing to look at as ever, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with a long leather duster over it all. How anyone could survive wearing a coat like that in Palm Springs was beyond me, but if anyone could, I supposed it was him. Usually he only wore it inside, but sometimes, I'd see it outside too. I'd mentioned this odd wardrobe choice to Adrian a couple of weeks ago: "Isn't Dimitri hot?" Adrian's response hadn't been entirely unexpected: "Well, yeah, according to most women, at least."

Dimitri's face was the picture of politeness as he addressed Clarence's concerns. "I don't believe there's anything wrong with the ones you have," Dimitri said. "Everything is sealed up pretty tightly."

"So it seems," said Clarence ominously. "But you don't know how resourceful they are. I'm not behind the times, you know. I know there are all sorts of technologies out there that you can put in. Like lasers that tell you if someone's breaking in." Dimitri arched an eyebrow. "You mean a security system?"

"Yes, exactly," said Clarence. "That'll keep the hunters out." This turn in conversation wasn't exactly a surprise to me. Clarence's paranoia had also increased recently - and that was saying something. He lived in constant fear of what he claimed were vampire hunters, humans who... well, hunted vampires. For the longest time, he'd claimed they were responsible for his niece's death and that reports of her being killed by a Strigoi were incorrect. It turned out he was half-right. Her death hadn't been the result of a Strigoi attack - it had been caused by Lee, in a desperate attempt to change back from a Moroi to a Strigoi. Clarence refused to accept that, however, and persisted in his beliefs about the hunters. My assurances that the Alchemists had no records of any groups like that existing since the Middle Ages hadn't gone very far. Consequently, Clarence was always making people do "security checks" of his house. Since Sonya and Dimitri were actually staying with him throughout the experimentation, that tedious task often fell to them.

"I'm not really qualified to install a security system," said Dimitri.

"Really? There's something you can't do?" Adrian's voice was so soft that I could barely hear him, and he was sitting right next to me. I doubted even the others, with their superior hearing, could've made out his words. Why does he still let Dimitri get to him? I wondered.

"You'd have to call professionals," Dimitri continued to Clarence. "I'm guessing you wouldn't want a bunch of strangers coming in and out of your house." Clarence frowned. "That's true. It'd be very easy for the hunters to infiltrate them." Dimitri was the picture of patience. "I'll do daily checks of all the doors and windows while I'm here - just to be sure."

"That would be wonderful," said Clarence, some of his tension easing. "Admittedly, I'm not really the hunters' usual type. Not dangerous enough. Not anymore." He chuckled to himself.

"Still. You never know what could happen. Best to be safe." Sonya gave him a gentle smile. "I'm sure everything will be fine. You have nothing to worry about."

Clarence met her eyes, and after a few seconds, a smile slowly spread over his face as well. His rigid posture slackened. "Yes, yes. You're right. Nothing to worry about." I shivered. I'd been around Moroi enough to know what had happened. Sonya had just used compulsion - only a whisper of it - to calm Clarence. Compulsion, the ability to force your will on others, was a skill all Moroi possessed to varying degrees. Spirit users were the strongest, rivaling Strigoi. Using compulsion on others was taboo among the Moroi, and there were serious consequences for those who abused it.

I was guessing Moroi authorities would overlook her soothing a nervous old man, but the small act still unsettled me. Compulsion in particular had always struck me as one of the most insidious Moroi powers. And had Sonya really needed to use it? She was already so kind and soothing. Wouldn't that be enough for Clarence? Sometimes I wondered if they just used magic for the sake of doing so. Sometimes I wondered if it was being used around me... without me even knowing.

Clarence's talk of vampire hunters always triggered a mix of amusement and unease around everyone. With him pacified (even if I didn't like the means), we were all able to relax a little bit. Sonya leaned back against the loveseat, drinking some fruity drink that looked perfect on a hot day like this. From her dirty clothes and haphazard hairstyling, I was willing to bet she'd been outside - not that she still didn't look beautiful. Most Moroi avoided this kind of intense sun, but her love of plants was so great that she'd been risking it to work on some of the ailing flowers in Clarence's garden. Heavy sunscreen could work wonders.

"I'm not going to be around much longer," she told us. "A few more weeks at most. I need to go back and work on some wedding plans with Mikhail."

"When's the big day again?" Adrian asked.

She smiled. "It's in December." That surprised me until she added, "There's a huge, tropical greenhouse near the Court that we're going to use. It's gorgeous - not that it matters.

Mikhail and I could be married anywhere. All that counts is that we're together. Of course, if we're able to choose, then why not go all out?"

Even I smiled at that. Leave it to Sonya to find a spot of green in the middle of a Pennsylvania winter.

"Dimitri may stay on," she continued. "But it'd be great if we could make some kind of progress before I go. The aura tests so far have been..."

"Useless?" suggested Adrian.

"I was going to say inconclusive," she replied.

Adrian shook his head. "So all that time we spent was wasted?" Sonya didn't answer and instead took another sip of her drink. I was willing to bet it was non-alcoholic - she didn't self-medicate the way Adrian did - and that Dorothy could make me one if I wanted. Yet, I was also willing to bet it was terrible for me. Maybe I'd see if there was any Diet Coke in the kitchen.

Sonya leaned forward, an eager glint in her eye. "Dimitri and I were talking and realized there's something obvious we've been missing. Actually, I should say avoiding, but not pursuing it would be a waste."

"What's that?" asked Adrian.

"Blood," said Dimitri.

I winced. I didn't like it when this topic came up. It reminded me of exactly what kind of people I was with.

"Obviously, there's something about restored Strigoi that protects them - us," he said.

"We've looked for magical signs, but the answer might be more physical. And from the report I read, the Strigoi had trouble drinking ll - his blood." Dimitri had been about to say Lee, but had amended his choice out of respect for Clarence. The old man's dazed, happy look made it hard to tell if he understood what we were discussing at all.