The Golden Lily

"I just needed one book," I said. "And I was actually only here ten minutes. I was out most of the night."

The smile fell, replaced by a frown. "Out with Brayden?"

"That's tomorrow. I had, um, family stuff tonight."

The frown deepened. "You go out a lot, Melbourne. You have a lot of friends outside school."

"Not that many," I said. "I'm not living a party lifestyle, if that's what you're getting at."

"Yeah, well. Be careful. I've heard about some scary stuff going on out there." I remembered him being concerned for Jill too. I usually kept up on all the local news and had heard nothing alarming recently. "What, is there a crime ring in Palm Springs I should know about?"

"Just be careful," he said.

We started to part ways, and then I called to him, "Trey? I know it's your own business, but whatever's going on... if you want to talk, I'm here." It was a huge concession for me, seeing as I wasn't always the most socially adept person.

Trey gave me a wistful smile. "Noted."

I was kind of reeling as I went back to my dorm. Adrian, Jill, Trey. I suppose if you counted Eddie and Angeline getting along, everyone in my life was behaving weirdly. All part of the job, I thought.

As soon as I was back in my room, I called Donna Stanton with the Alchemists. I never could be sure what time zone she was in, so I wasn't too concerned about the late hour. She answered right away and didn't sound tired, which I took as a good sign. She hadn't responded to my e-mail about the Warriors, and I was anxious for news. They posed too big a threat to us to be ignored.

"Miss Sage," she said. "I was planning on calling you soon. I trust everything's okay with the Dragomir girl?"

"Jill? Yeah, she's fine. I wanted to check in on some other things. You got the info I sent you about the Warriors of Light?"

Stanton sighed. "That's what I was going to call you about. Have you had any more runins?"

"No. And they don't seem to have been following us anymore either. Maybe they gave up."

"Unlikely." Her next words took a long time to get out. "Not from what we've observed in the past."

I froze, momentarily speechless. "In the past? Do you mean... you've run into them before?

I was hoping they were just some... I don't know. A crazy, localized group."

"Unfortunately, no. We've encountered them before. Sporadically, mind you. But they pop up everywhere."

I was still in disbelief. "But I was always taught that any hunters had disappeared centuries ago. Why has no one ever talked about this?"

"Honestly?" asked Stanton. "Most Alchemists don't know. We want to run an efficient organization, one that deals with the vampire problem in an organized, peaceful way. There are some people in our group who might want to take more extreme action. It's best then if the existence of our radical offshoot is kept secret. I wouldn't have even told you, but with all the contact you're having, you need to be prepared."

"Offshoot... then they are related to Alchemists!" I was sickened.

"Not for a very long time." She sounded equally disgusted. "There's almost no resemblance anymore. They're reckless and savage. The only reason we let them be is because they usually just go after Strigoi. This situation with Sonya Karp is more difficult. She hasn't had any more threats?"

"No. I just saw her tonight... which brings up the other reason I called..." I gave Stanton a rundown of the various blood experiments, including my own donation. I painted it in very scientific terms, how it had seemed useful as extra data. I then made sure to sound properly appalled by the second request - which wasn't that difficult.

"Absolutely not," said Stanton. No hesitation. Often, Alchemist decisions went through chains of command, even with someone as high up as her. It was a sign of how much this went against Alchemist beliefs that she didn't even have to consult anyone. "Human control-blood is one thing. The rest she's suggesting is out of the question. I will not allow humans to be used in these experiments, especially when the evidence clearly shows the former Strigoi need to be the focus - not us. Besides, for all we know, this is some ploy on the Moroi part to get more of our blood for personal reasons." I didn't believe that last part at all and tried to find a tactful way of saying so. "Sonya seems to sincerely believe this would help protect against Strigoi. She just doesn't seem to grasp how we feel about it."

"Of course she wouldn't," said Stanton dismissively. "None of them do." She and I returned our focus to the vampire hunters. The Alchemists were doing some investigating on any sightings in the area. She didn't want me to do any active investigation myself, but I was to report in immediately if any other information came my way. She was assuming the Warriors of Light were operating nearby, and once she found out where, the Alchemists would "deal with them." I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but her tone made me shiver. As she'd pointed out earlier, we weren't a particularly aggressive group... though we were excellent at getting rid of problems.

"Oh," I said, just as we were wrapping up. "Did you ever find out anything about Marcus Finch?" I'd tried locating Clarence's mysterious human, who'd helped against the hunters, but had found nothing. I'd hoped Stanton might have more connections.

"No. But we'll keep looking." A slight pause. "Miss Sage... I can't emphasize enough how pleased we are with the work you're doing. You've run into a few more complications than any of us expected, yet you handle them all efficiently and properly. Even your conduct with the Moroi is outstanding. A weaker person might have yielded to Karp's request. You refused and contacted me. I'm so proud I took the chance on you."

I felt a tightening in my chest. So proud. I couldn't remember the last time someone had said they were proud of me. Well, my mother did a lot, but no one tied to my work among the Alchemists did. For most of my life, I'd hoped my father would say he was proud. I'd finally given up on expecting that. Stanton was hardly a parental figure, but her words triggered happiness in me I hadn't known was waiting to come out.

"Thank you, ma'am," I said, when I could finally speak.

"Keep it up," she said. "When I can, I'll get you out of that place and into a position that doesn't involve so much contact with them."

And like that, my world came crashing down. I suddenly felt guilty. She really had given me a chance, and now I was deceiving her. I was hardly like Liam, ready to sell my soul to the Strigoi, but I also wasn't staying objective with my charges. Driving lessons. Thanksgiving.