The Golden Lily

"Not the craziest thing I've ever done." He smiled as he looked up at me. His eyes grew slightly unfocused, as though they were seeing more than just me. "What's a little crazy here and there? I'm supposed to be doing experiments... why not see which is brighter: your aura or the sun?"

The way he looked at me and spoke unnerved me, and I remembered what Jill had said, how spirit slowly drove its users insane. Adrian hardly seemed insane, but there was certainly something haunted about him, a definite shift from his usual sharp wit. It was as though something else had seized hold of him. I remembered that poem line, about dreaming and waking.

"Come on," I repeated. I held out my hand. "You shouldn't have used spirit. We need to get you out of here."

He took my hand and staggered to his feet. A rush of warmth and electricity went through me, just as it had the last time we touched, and our eyes held. For a moment, all I could think about were his earlier words: You looked happy...

I brushed such sentiments aside and quickly got him out of there, only to discover the mechanic hadn't finished. At least in his shop, we were able to get Adrian some water and air conditioning. As we waited I texted Brayden. Running an hour late with family stuff. Sorry. Will be there as soon as I can. My phone chimed back about thirty seconds later: That only leaves an hour for the textile museum.

"That's not nearly enough time," said Adrian deadpan. I hadn't realized he'd been reading over my shoulder. I moved the phone away and suggested to Brayden we just meet for an early dinner. He concurred.

"I'm a mess," I muttered, checking myself out in a mirror. The heat had definitely taken its toll, and I looked sweaty and worn.

"Don't worry about it," Adrian told me. "If he didn't notice how awesome you were in the red dress, he probably won't notice anything now." He hesitated. "Not that there's even anything to notice. You're as cute as usual."

I was about to snap at him for teasing me, but when I looked over, his face was deadly earnest. Whatever retort I might have managed died on my lips, and I quickly got up to check our status, in order to hide how flustered I felt.

The mechanic finally finished - no problems found - and Adrian and I headed downtown. I kept watching him anxiously, afraid he'd pass out.

"Stop worrying, Sage. I'm fine," he said. "Although... I'd be better with some ice cream or gelato. Even you have to admit that'd be good right now." It would, actually, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "What is it with you and frozen desserts? Why do you always want them?"

"Because we live in a desert."

I couldn't argue with that reasoning. We reached his place, and I swapped cars. Before he went inside, I inundated him with advice about getting water and resting. Then, I spoke the words that had been burning inside of me.

"Thank you for the poolside outing," I said. "Your near-sun-stroke aside, that was pretty amazing."

He gave me a cocky smile. "Maybe you'll get used to vampire magic after all."

"No," I said automatically. "I'll never get used to that." His smile immediately disappeared. "Of course not," he murmured. "See you around." I finally made it to dinner. I'd chosen an Italian restaurant, filled with the scents of garlic and cheese. Brayden sat at a corner table, sipping water and earning glares from the waitress, who was probably impatient for him to order. I sat down opposite him, dropping my satchel beside me.

"I am so sorry," I told him. "I had to do this thing with my, uh, brother." If Brayden was mad, he didn't show it. That was his way. He did, however, give me a scrutinizing look. "Was it something athletic? You look like you ran a marathon." It wasn't an insult, not by any means, but it did take me aback - mostly because I was thinking of Adrian's comment. Brayden had had almost nothing to say about my Halloween costume, but he noticed this?

"We were out in Santa Sofia, getting his car looked at."

"Nice area. Keep going up the highway, and you can get to Joshua Tree National Park.

Ever been there?"

"No. Just read about it."

"Iconic place. The geology's fascinating."

The waitress came by, and I gratefully ordered an iced latte. Brayden was more than happy to tell me about some of the park's geology, and we soon fell into our comfortable rhythm of intellectual discussion. I didn't know the park's specific makeup, but I knew more than enough about geology in general to keep up. In fact, I was able to talk on autopilot while my mind wandered back to Adrian. I recalled again what he'd said about the red dress. I also couldn't shake the comment about me being happy, and how that was worth his suffering.

"What do you think?"

"Hmm?" I realized I'd lost the thread of our conversation after all.

"I asked which type of desert you find more striking," Brayden explained. "The Mojave region gets all the hype, but I actually prefer the Colorado Desert."

"Ah." I slipped back into the flow. "Um, Mojave. I like the rock formations better." This triggered a debate of the regions while we ate, and Brayden seemed happier and happier. He really did like having someone who could keep up with him, I realized. None of my books had said anything about the way to a man's heart being through academic debates.

I didn't mind it, though. I liked the conversation, but it didn't exactly send thrills through me. I had to remind myself it was still early in our relationship - if I could even call it that. Surely the head over heels part would come soon.

We talked for a long time after the meal was over. The waitress brought us an unsolicited dessert menu when we finished, and I surprised myself by saying, "Wow... I can't believe how much I want gelato right now. That never happens." Maybe the sweat and heat had leached my nutrients... or maybe I still had Adrian on the brain.

"I've never heard you order dessert," said Brayden, sliding his menu away. "It's not too much sugar?"

It was another of those weird statements of his that could be interpreted a number of different ways. Was he judging me? Did he think I shouldn't have any sugar? I didn't know, but it was enough for me to close the menu and set it on top of his.

With no other scheduled forms of entertainment for the night, we decided to just go for a walk after dinner. The temperature was down to moderate levels, and it was still light enough out that I wasn't as concerned about the Warriors of Light jumping out from corners. That didn't mean I ignored Wolfe's teachings, however. I still kept an eye on my surroundings, watching for anything suspicious.