her hand. The stream coming from the faucet suddenly shifted, shooting out of the sink and across the living room. It went to Jill, who collected a large amount of it between her hands and magically forced the water into a long cylindrical shape. It held itself in the air like that, a rippling but seemingly solid club of water. Gripping it, she hurried toward the fight and swung her weapon of water into Jacqueline's back. Drops flew off of the "club," but it held on to its rigidity enough for her to get a second hit in before completely exploding into a spray of water.
Jacqueline spun around, her hand swinging out to strike Jill. Jill had expected as much and dropped to the floor, dodging in exactly the way I'd seen Eddie teach her. She scurried backward, out of Jacqueline's way, and the Strigoi pursued - giving Eddie an exposed shot on her back. Eddie took the opportunity, evading Dawn, and plunged his stake into Jacqueline's back. I'd never given it much thought before, but if shoved hard enough, a stake could pierce someone's heart just as easily from the back as the chest. Jacqueline went rigid, and Eddie jerked his stake out, just managing to avoid the full force of a strike from Dawn. She still caught him a little, and he stumbled briefly before quickly regaining his footing and setting his sights on her. Jill was forgotten and hurried over to us in the kitchen.
"Are you okay?" she exclaimed, peering at both of us. That fierce look was gone. She was now just an ordinary girl concerned for her friends. "Oh my God. I was so worried about you both. The emotions were so strong. I couldn't get a fix on what was happening, just that something was horribly wrong."
I dragged my gaze to Eddie, who was dancing around with Dawn. "We have to help him - "
I took two steps away from the counter and started to fall. Both Jill and Adrian reached out to catch me.
"Jesus, Sage," he exclaimed. "You're in bad shape."
"Not as bad as you," I protested, still worried about helping Eddie. "They drank more from you - "
"Yeah, but I don't have a bleeding arm wound," he pointed out. "Or a possible concussion."
It was true. In all the excitement, I was so full of adrenaline that I'd all but forgotten about where Lee had stabbed me. No wonder I was so dizzy. Or maybe that was from getting my head smacked into the wall. It was anyone's guess at this point.
"Here," said Adrian gently. He reached for my arms with his cuffed hands. "I can take care of this."
A slow, tingling warmth spread through my skin. At first, Adrian's touch was comforting, like an embrace. I felt my tension and pain begin to ease. All was right in the world. He was in control. He was taking care of me.
He was using his magic on me.
"No!" I shrieked, pulling away from him with a strength I didn't know I had. The horror and full realization of what was happening to me was too powerful. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me with your magic!"
"Sage, you'll feel better, believe me," he said, reaching toward me again.
I backed away, clinging to the edge of the counter for support. The fleeting memory of that warmth and comfort was being dwarfed by the terror I'd carried my entire life for vampire magic. "No, no, no. No magic! Not on me! The tattoo will heal me! I'm strong!"
"Sage - "
"Stop, Adrian," said Jill. She approached me tentatively. "It's okay, Sydney. He won't heal you. I promise."
"No magic," I whispered.
"For God's sake," growled Adrian. "This is superstitious bullshit."
"No magic," Jill said firmly. She took off the button-up shirt she'd been wearing over a T-shirt. "Come here, and I'll use this to wrap it so that you don't lose any more bl - "
An earsplitting shriek jerked us all back toward the living room. Eddie had made his kill, driving his stake right into the middle of Dawn's chest. In my brief scuffle with Adrian and Jill, Dawn must have gotten some shots in on Eddie because there was a large red mark on one side of his face, and his lip was bleeding. The expression in his eyes was hard and triumphant, however, as he pulled the stake out and watched Dawn fall.
Through all the confusion and horror, basic Alchemist instincts took over. The danger was gone. There were