Bloodlines Page 0,79

think they exist."

"But..." Eddie prompted.

"But," I said. "Doesn't the idea freak you out a little? I mean, right now, you know who to look out for. Other Moroi. Strigoi. They stand out. But a human vampire hunter?" I gestured to the students gathered and working in the library. "You wouldn't know who's a threat."

Eddie shook his head. "It's pretty easy, actually. I just treat everyone as a threat."

I couldn't decide if that made me feel better or not.

When I returned to my dorm later, Mrs. Weathers flagged me down. "Ms. Terwilliger dropped something off for you."

"She brought me something?" I asked in surprise. "It's not money, is it?" So far, none of my coffee purchases had been reimbursed.

By way of answer, Mrs. Weathers handed over a leather-covered book. At first, I thought it was the one I'd just finished. Then I looked more closely at the cover and read Volume 2. A yellow sticky note attached to the book had Ms. Terwilliger's spidery writing on it: Next. I sighed and thanked Mrs.

Weathers. I'd do any task my teacher asked of me, but I was kind of hoping she'd assign me a book that was more of a historical account than recipes for spells.

As I was walking down my hall, I heard a few exclamations of alarm from the far end. I could see an open door and a few people huddled around it. Hurrying past my own room, I went to see what the problem was. It was Julia and Kristin's room. Although I wasn't sure I really had the right, I pushed my way past some of the frightened onlookers. No one stopped me.

I found Kristin lying on her bed, twitching violently. She was sweating profusely, and her pupils were so large, there was hardly any discernible iris. Julia sat near her on the bed, as did a couple girls I didn't know so well. She looked up at my approach, her face filled with fear.

"Kristin?" I cried. "Kristin, are you okay?" When no response came, I turned to the others. "What's the matter with her?"

Julia anxiously refolded a wet cloth and placed it on Kristin's forehead. "We don't know. She's been like this since this morning."

I stared incredulously. "Then she needs to see a doctor! We need to call someone now. I'll get Mrs. Weathers - "

"No!" Julia jumped up and caught hold of my arm. "You can't. The reason she's like this... well, we think it's because of the tattoo."

"Tattoo?"

One of the other girls caught hold of Kristin's wrist and turned it so that I could see the inside. There, tattooed in glittering coppery ink on her dusky skin, was a daisy. I remembered Kristin pining for a celestial tattoo, but last I knew, she couldn't afford it. "When did she get this?"

"Earlier today," said Julia. She looked abashed. "I lent her the money."

I stared at that sparkling flower, so pretty and seemingly harmless. I had no doubt it was what was causing this fit. Whatever was mixed with the ink to provide the high wasn't reacting correctly with her system.

"She needs a doctor," I said firmly.

"You can't. We'll have to tell them about the tattoos," said the girl who had been holding Kristin's hand. "No one believed Trey, but if they saw something like this... well, everything at Nevermore could be shut down."

Good! I thought. But to my astonishment, her words were met with nods from the other gathered girls. Were they crazy? How many of them had those ridiculous tattoos? And was protecting them really more important than Kristin's life?

Julia swallowed and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "We were hoping this might pass. Maybe she needs a little time to adjust."

Kristin moaned. One of her legs trembled like it was having a muscle spasm and then stilled. Her eyes and their large pupils stared off blankly, and her breathing was shallow.

"She's had all day!" I pointed out. "You guys, she could die."

"How do you know?" asked Julia in astonishment.

I didn't, not for sure. But every once in a while, Alchemist tattoos didn't take either. In ninety-nine percent of the cases, human bodies accepted the vampire blood used in an Alchemist tattoo, allowing its properties to infuse with our own, kind of like a low-grade dhampir. We gained good stamina and long life, though hardly got the amazing physical abilities dhampirs received. The blood was too diluted for that. Even so, there was always the occasional person who got sick from an