commune, doing chores or whatever else it was they did with their lives. A group of children sat around a dhampir reading a book to them, making me wonder what sort of education process they had here.
All of the Keepers stopped whatever they were doing as we passed, giving us either curious looks or outright smiles. I smiled back occasionally but mostly kept my eyes ahead. Joshua was escorting us back to the "parking lot' and managed to walk beside me when we reached the narrow path.
"I hope you won't be gone long,' he said. "I'd wanted us to talk more.'
"Sure,' I said. "That'd be fun.'
He brightened and chivalrously pushed aside a low-hanging branch. "Maybe I can show you my cave.'
"Your--wait. What? Don't you live with your dad?'
"For now. But I'm getting my own place.' There was pride in his voice. "It's not as big as his, of course, but it's a good start. It's almost cleaned out.'
"That's really, um, great. Definitely show me when we're back.' The words came easily to my lips, but my mind was pondering the fact that Raymond's house was apparently "big.'
Joshua parted ways from us when we reached Raymond's truck, a big red pickup with a seat that could just barely hold the three of us. Considering the Keepers didn't leave the woods much, the truck seemed like it had seen a lot of miles. Or maybe just a lot of years of disuse.
"You shouldn't lead him on like that,' Dimitri said, when we'd been on the road for about ten minutes. Surprisingly, Sydney had let him drive. I guessed she figured a manly truck deserved a manly driver.
Now that we were moving, my mind had focused back on the task at hand: finding the other Dragomir. "Huh?'
"Joshua. You were flirting with him.'
"I was not! We were just talking.'
"Aren't you with Adrian?'
"Yes!' I exclaimed, glaring at Dimitri. His eyes were fixed on the road. "And that's why I wasn't flirting. How can you read so much into that? Joshua doesn't even like me that way.'
"Actually,' said Sydney, sitting between us, "he does.'
I turned my incredulity on her. "How do you know? Did he pass you a note in class or something?'
She rolled her eyes. "No. But you and Dimitri are like gods back at camp.'
"We're outsiders,' I reminded her. "Tainted.'
"No. You're renegade Strigoi - and queen-killers. It might have all been southern charm and hospitality back there, but those people can be savage. They put a big premium on being able to beat people up. And, considering how scruffy most of them are, you guys are ... well ... let's just say you two are the hottest things to walk through there in a while.'
"You're not hot?' I asked.
"It's irrelevant,' she said, flustered by the comment. "Alchemists aren't even on their radar. We don't fight. They think we're weak.'
I thought back to the enraptured faces and had to admit that a lot of the people there did have a weathered, worn-out look. Almost. "Raymond's family was pretty good- looking,' I pointed out. I heard a grunt from Dimitri who no doubt read this as evidence of me flirting with Joshua.
"Yeah,' she said. "Because they're probably the most important family in town. They eat better, probably don't have to work in the sun as much. That kind of stuff makes a difference.'
There was no more talk of flirting as we continued the drive. We made good time to Rubysville, which looked eerily similar to the first town we'd stayed in. When we stopped at what appeared to be the Rubysville's only gas station, Sydney ran inside to ask a few questions. She came back, reporting that there was indeed a cafe of sorts where she could plug in her laptop and try to look up what we needed.
She ordered coffee, and we sat there with her, too full from breakfast to order anything substantial. After a couple dirty looks from a waitress who seemed to regard us as loiterers, Dimitri and I decided to take a walk around town. Sydney looked almost as pleased as the waitress about this. I don't think she liked having us hover around.
I'd given Sydney a hard time about West Virginia, but I had to admit the scenery was beautiful. Soaring trees, full of summer leaves, surrounded the town like an embrace. Beyond them, mountains loomed, very different from the ones I'd grown up with near St. Vladimir's. These were rolling and green, covered in more trees. Most of the