The Golden Lily

"Adrian," warned Dimitri.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. Don't worry. I promised." Promised what? Nobody elaborated. There wasn't far to walk since he lived on the ground floor, but when we stepped outside, he caught hold of me, his hands resting on my arms. A jolt went through me, both at the touch and the unexpected gesture. His only displays of tenderness were usually with Jill.

"Sage," he said. "For real. Be careful. Don't be a hero - we've got plenty of them back there. And... no matter what happens, I want you to know that I never doubted what you're going to do. It's smart, and it's brave."

"You sound like it's already happened and failed," I said.

"No, no. I just... well, I want you to know that I trust you."

"Okay," I said, feeling a little puzzled. I again had the feeling that I wasn't being told something. "Hopefully my plan will work."

I needed to walk away, out of Adrian's grasp, but couldn't quite do it. I was hesitant to go, for some reason. There was safety and comfort there. Once I left, I really was walking into the lion's den. I lingered a few moments more, safe in the circle we made, and then reluctantly slipped away.

"Please be careful," he repeated. "Come back safe."

"I will." On impulse I took off my cross necklace and pressed it into his hand. "This time, keep it for real. Hold onto it until I return. If you get too worried, look at it and know that I'll have to come back for it. It goes really well with khakis and neutral colors." I worried he would give it back, but he simply nodded and squeezed the cross tight. I walked away, feeling slightly vulnerable without it, but hoped it reassured him. My discomfort suddenly seemed like a small thing. I wanted Adrian to be okay.

I got into the passenger seat of Trey's car and immediately gave him the sword. He looked about as miserable as he had earlier. "You sure you want to go through with this?" Why did everyone keep asking me that? "Yes. Absolutely."

"Let me see your cell phone."

I handed it over, and he turned it off. He gave it back, along with a blindfold. "I'll trust you to put this on yourself."

"Thanks."

I started to slip it on and then, on impulse, looked back toward the building one last time.

Adrian was still standing there, hands in his pockets, face concerned. Seeing my gaze, he managed a small smile and raised one hand in... what? Farewell? A benediction? I didn't know, but it made me feel better. The last thing I saw was the flash of the cross in the sunlight, just before I covered my eyes with the blindfold.

I was plunged into darkness.

Chapter 21

I'D SEEN MOVIES where blindfolded people were able to tell where they were going, based on some innate talent to sense motion and direction. Not me. After a few turns, I couldn't have told you where in Palm Spring we were - especially since I suspected Trey was taking a slightly roundabout way in order to make sure there wasn't a tail. The only thing I was certain of was when we got on I-10, simply because of the feel of the freeway. I didn't know what direction we were headed and had no way to accurately time how long we traveled either.

Trey didn't offer much in the way of conversation, though he did give short answers whenever I asked questions. "When did you join the vampire hunters?"

"Warriors of Light," he corrected. "And I was born into it."

"That's why you're always talking about family pressure and why so much is expected of you, isn't it? It's why your dad is so concerned about your athletic performance." I took Trey's silence as an affirmative and pushed on, needing to get as much information as possible. "How often do you guys have your, um, meetings? Are you always having those brutal tests?" Until very recently, there had been nothing to suggest Trey's life was much different from any other high school athlete who kept up with his grades, a job, and an active social life. In fact, thinking of all the things Trey usually did, it was hard to imagine him having any time at all for the Warriors.

"We don't have regular meetings," he said. "Well, not someone at my level. We wait until we're called, usually because a hunt's under way. Or sometimes we conduct competitions, in order to test our strength. Our leaders travel around, and then Warriors gather from all different places in order to be ready."

"Ready for what?"

"The day when we can end the vampire scourge altogether."

"And you really believe this hunt is the way to do it? That it's the right thing to do?"

"Have you ever seen them?" he asked. "The evil, undead vampires?"

"I've seen quite a few of them."

"And you don't think they should be destroyed?"

"That's not what I've been trying to tell you. I don't have any love for Strigoi, believe me.

My point is that Sonya's not one of them."

More silence.

Eventually, I felt us exit the freeway. We drove for a while longer until the car slowed again and turned, onto a gravel road. We soon came to a stop, and Trey rolled down the window.

"This is her?" asked an unknown man.

"Yes," said Trey.

"You turned off her cell phone?"

"Yes."

"Take her in then. They'll do the rest of the search." I heard a squeaking gate open, and then we continued on the gravel road until turning onto what felt like packed dirt. Trey stopped the car and turned it off. He opened his door at the same time someone on the outside opened mine. A hand on my shoulder nudged me forward.

"Come on. Get out."

"Be careful with her," warned Trey.

I was led from the car into a building. It wasn't until I heard a door shut and latch that my blindfold was finally taken off. I was in a stark room with unfinished drywall and bare bulb lights in the ceiling. Four other people stood around Trey and me, three men and one woman.

All of them looked to be in their twenties, and two were the guys who had stopped me at the cafe. Also, all of them were armed.

"Empty out your purse." It was Jeff, the guy with buzzed dark hair, wearing a gold earring of the antique sun symbol.

I complied, dumping my purse's contents onto a makeshift table composed of plywood set on top of some cinderblocks. While they sifted through it, the woman patted me down for wires. She had hair with a bad bleach job and a perennial snarl on her face, but at least her frisk was professional and efficient.

"What's this?" Blond Hair from the cafe held up a small plastic bag filled with dried herbs and flowers. "You don't look like the drug type."